Kaye Nikki: Urgent Debates — Dairy Products Whey Protein—Response to Contamination IncidentText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeKaye Nikki: Urgent Debates — Dairy Products Whey Protein—Response to Contamination Incident[Sitting date: 06 August 2013. Volume:692;Page:12330. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon NIKKI KAYE (Minister for Food Safety):I welcome the opportunity to speak in Parliament today. Can I start by saying and acknowledging that there are a huge number of people across the Government and in the community working hard to resolve this issue. For generations our country has been providing safe and suitable food. We have an outstanding record but what I can say—and I think I am expressing what many New Zealanders are feeling at the moment—is that this incident is disappointing. I want in my comments now to just work through what we know and what the Government has done in terms of a response. It has been comprehensive. There have been officials working round the clock and there is also a ministerial response team that has been working and has had a number of meetings.What we know is that Fonterra notified the Ministry for Primary Industries that three batches of whey protein concentrate were potentially contaminated withClostridiumbotulinum . Further notifications have been received by the Ministry for Primary Industries since. The ministry’s companies and verifiers have been tracing the movement of this protein and of the products it has been made into and any distributional sales. It is important for people to understand at this point that what has been difficult is that the information has changed through this event. But what I can say is that we have had a response team that has involved the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade the Ministry for Primary Industries the Ministry of Health and a number of other agencies to ensure that the public have the best information available from what we have been given.It has already been in the public domain obviously that there were two batches that were recalled byKaricare. The Acting Director-General of Health has taken further actions. When it became clear that the information was uncertain he took a precautionary measure and issued a cautionary statement to protect the public which is absolutely the right thing to do.As I said before there are a number of other actions that the Government has been taking to ensure a whole-of-Government response. Can I acknowledge the Leader of the Opposition’s comments that this is above politics. It is important I think that we work together across this House to ensure that the public know that we are operating in the best interests of New Zealand.In terms of other actions that the Government and the ministerial response team and agencies have taken officials from the Ministry for Primary Industries are at Fonterra sites in Auckland Hamilton and Australia to verify information and to obtain a complete picture of the products and locations affected by the contaminated powder. My colleague the Hon Tim Groser will soon have the opportunity to speak and he will talk about what he has been doing at an international level because what we do realise is that it is important that our agencies work to ensure certainty around traceability of that product not only for New Zealanders but also for the many mums and dads and the Governments across the world that have been affected by this incident. Yes we have a strong record as a country in terms of providing safe and suitable food but we have high expectations of ourselves and we are disappointed by this incident. It has resultedin Ministers working round the clock—whether it is at an international level through my colleague the Hon Tim Groser or domestically through me and Ministers like the Hon Tony Ryall the Hon Jo Goodhew and the Hon Paula Bennett who has been involved as well—to ensure that the public are protected.I can also confirm that in terms of the potential contamination of the pipe Ministry for Primary Industries officials have conducted a physical check of the plant in the Waikato to confirm that the pipe suspected of causing the contamination has been changed.I want to touch on another issue because obviously throughout this issue given that there was uncertain information the ministerial response team Government agencies and the food and grocery sector have been focused on ensuring that there are no immediate supply issues in terms of infant formula. We want mums and dads around the country to know that we are doing everything we can to ensure that infant formula is on the shelf and safe. What people can be assured is that there have been a number of meetings between Ministers—including the Hon Tony Ryall the Hon Jo Goodhew and me—and the food and grocery sector. I want to thank those representatives for their confirmation to me that they will do everything they can to ensure that supply is maintained.This is obviously an incident that is disappointing. It is having consequences which my colleague the Hon Tim Groser will talk about. But what I want to assure the New Zealand public is that we are operating on a basis that is about protecting them and that when information comes to hand we are doing everything we can to ensure that the information we have been given is communicated in a responsible way.I am very proud to be the Minister for Food Safety and I know the strong record our country has had but I also want to express on behalf of I think many New Zealanders that we are disappointed with this incident. My focus right now is on ensuring that the public are protected and that the agencies that are involved in the operational response have every resource they need. I am working with my ministerial colleagues to ensure that this agile response continues to work round the clock so that we have this issue resolved. What I want to assure people is that there will be a time to ask those appropriate questions and whether they are asked of the companies involved or in terms of our food systems I think that is important because we need to ensure that we do everything we can to restore confidence in New Zealand’s trusted reputation.I cannot stay here for the rest of this debate. It is not that I am not absolutely focused on it or do not want to listen to the rest of the speakers here; it is just that I am spending every waking moment ensuring that the Government response to this issue is comprehensive and ensures that the public get the best information available when we have it. I have to leave the Chamber but I just want to acknowledge the Leader of the Opposition who has already spoken who has said that this is bigger than politics. I look forward to other members in the House working together to ensure that we do everything we can to ensure that the public are protected that they have the best information and that our international partners continue to have confidence in our country in terms of our food systems. Thank you.