And the Food and Grocery Council said it had absolute confidence in the safety of the food supply.
Countdown’s acting managing director Steve Donohue said the threat would be worrying for customers and it had put extra security in place from the time the product arrived in its distribution centres till it was bought by a customer in stores.
“As a retailer of infant formula, Countdown is doing everything possible to keep infant formula safe in our supermarkets,” Donohue said.
“Some of these security measures will mean it takes a little bit more time for customers to purchase infant formula but together these steps will ensure constant monitoring of the product, either in person or by CCTV.
Increased security measures include:
- Additional security processes, checks and monitoring in all distribution centres, including CCTV and robust security during transit to stores;
- Extra checks in-store before the product was put on the shelf;
- Infant formula moved from the main shelf to behind service counters or Lotto desks so it was monitored, either in person or by CCTV;
- CCTV cameras on the product at all times in storage and when behind the counter and;
- Random sampling of infant formula.
“We’re also asking our customers to be vigilant,” Donohue said.
“Everyone has a role to play in checking their cans of infant formula for any sign of tampering and by keeping an eye out for anything suspicious or unusual.”
“This is an attack on Brand NZ,” the Food and Grocery Council said in a statement that was not attributed to any person.
“Our country has a reputation for producing safe, high-quality food products which are in demand around the world and this coward’s letter doesn’t change that at all.
“These letters are an attack on all New Zealanders, designed to gain publicity and cause the maximum damage to the NZ economy.
“We are absolutely confident about the safety of infant formula manufacturing in NZ and the products sold in our supermarkets,” the unattributed statement said.
Food manufacturing in New Zealand is safer now than at any time in our history. Even so, our infant formula companies have chosen to add additional testing and even more stringent security measures – beyond what is already world-best practice and regulatory requirements – solely to give consumers additional reassurance during this difficult time.
Countdown suggested if people suspected a product had been tampered with they should contact the Police on 0800 723 665 or take the product to a police station.
For more information and regular updates: www.foodprotection.govt.nz.
If you have concerns about the health and wellbeing of your baby call Healthline on 0800 611 116.
If you have concerns about the nutritional requirements of your baby call Plunketline on 0800 933 922.
For an emergency dial 111.
