WELLINGTON (APP) – New Zealand has received an “eco-terrorist” threat to poison baby formula, Prime Minister John Key said Tuesday, in a scare that risks further denting the country’s “clean, green” reputation.
Police said they were taking the issue seriously after small packages of baby formula containing poison were sent with anonymous letters to the National Farmers Federation and dairy giant Fonterra.
“Whilst there is a possibility that this threat is a hoax, we must treat the threat seriously and a priority investigation is underway,” deputy commissioner Mike Clement said.
Authorities warned parents to examine packaging for signs of tampering and supermarkets removed formula cans from shelves to storerooms so shoppers could not access them directly.
Police said the motive behind what they termed a blackmail attempt was the use of a poison called 1080 for pest control, which some critics say kills native wildlife.
Asked how he would characterise the threat, Key replied: “It’s a form of eco-terrorism without doubt.
Even if it was a hoax, the scare comes at a sensitive time for New Zealand’s dairy industry, which is recovering from a botulism scare last year involving Fonterra.
New Zealand is the world’s largest dairy exporter and infant formula is a major component, with annual exports to China alone totalling NZ$3.0 billion (US$2.2 billion). Infant Formula Exporters Association chairman Michel Barnett said the industry did not need another crisis.
“This could be extremely damaging for New Zealand’s exports offshore,” he told TVNZ.
