Russia bans all Fonterra products - report

The firm says drought and the reshaping of its Australian business will affect earnings. Photo / Christine Cornege

Are you affected by the Fonterra scare? Email amelia.wade@nzherald.co.nz

Russia has made one of the most extreme responses to Fonterra's contamination scare so far, banning all goods made by the New Zealand dairy giant, according to media reports.

Russia was not on the list of affected countries released by Trade Minister Tim Groser yesterday, which included New Zealand, Australia, China, Vietnam and Thailand.

Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported that the country's consumer-protection watchdog was recalling Fonterra's products, including infant formula, and advising consumers in Russia not to buy its products.

A Fonterra director told Radio NZ last year that the company sold around US$120 million worth products, mainly butter and cheese, each year in Russia.

China has introduced a blanket ban on all New Zealand milk powder imports, Groser told TVNZ's Q&A this morning.

Fonterra yesterday announced that a dirty pipe at its Hautapu plant in the Waikato might have contaminated three batches of a whey protein called WPC80 with bacteria that can cause botulism, a potentially fatal illness.

Fonterra said eight of its customers, most of whom have still not been named, could have used the affected batches in a range of infant formula products and soft drinks.