“Food fraud is on the rise,” he told the DairyNZ Farmers Forum at Mystery Creek in May.
“We need to be good scouts and be prepared because counterfeiting has the ability to damage our reputation.”
Fonterra milk powder bags were recently taken from a rubbish tip in Indonesia, filled with another product, resealed and sold, he said.
“How do you prove that product in the bag isn’t yours? It can be very difficult when there are differences in milk powder throughout the year.”
Depending on what farmers were feeding their cows fat ratios ranged from 4.5% to 6% while protein fluctuated between 3.7% and 4.5% through the season, he said.
That influenced what products Fonterra could make at certain times of the year and what countries it could export product to. It needed good science and systems to be able to identify and track its products, he said.
Consumer demand for transparency and their access to information had both increased.
“There’s an expectation of getting it right first time, every time, and any issue is communicated globally at speed.”
When Fonterra recalled 8700 bottles of fresh cream in NZ in January because of a risk of E. coli, a food quality warning was issued in China even though the product wasn’t available there.
“A local issue can become an international issue very fast.”
The entire value chain was under scrutiny and farmers should be vigilant checking the quality of the products they brought onfarm.
Fonterra had learnt a lot of lessons about minimising damage from food scare issues during the last 18 months, he said.
“We are facing increased scrutiny that’s forcing us to work a lot harder than we were, but in the long run it’s good for us.
“We are working hard to enhance reputation.”
