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Food Safety and Associate Primary Industries Minister Jo Goodhew will travel to China today for bi-lateral meetings and to open a new Fonterra dairy facility in the Shanxi Province.

“The relationship between New Zealand and China has never been stronger, and it is crucial for our economy that we maintain that strong relationship in food safety,” says Mrs Goodhew.

Primary Industries Ministers Nathan Guy and Food Safety Minister Jo Goodhew have welcomed the annual KPMG Agribusiness Agenda, which shows strong industry support for the Government priorities of strengthening biosecurity and adding value to exports.

“This annual report surveys over 100 leaders in the primary sector and is a valuable snapshot of industry views,” says Mr Guy.

“It’s no surprise to see biosecurity highlighted again as the number one issue by industry, as it has been my number one priority since becoming Minister.

The Government is taking a criminal threat to contaminate food products very seriously, and is reassuring parents that our infant and other formulas are safe and that extra testing and security measures have been implemented as a further safeguard.

The New Zealand Police and the Ministry of Primary Industries announced today they have been working with a range of agencies to assess and respond to a threat to contaminate infant and other milk formula products in an apparent protest over the use of 1080 pest control.

Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy and Food Safety Minister Jo Goodhew have received the final report from the Government’s inquiry into the whey protein concentrate contamination incident last year.

Ministers will now consider the report and its recommendations. The report will be released along with the Government’s response within the next few weeks.

This part of the inquiry looks at how the potentially contaminated whey protein concentrate entered the New Zealand and international market, and how this was subsequently addressed.

John [Hon John Luxton, Chair Dairy NZ], Tim [Tim Mackle Chief Executive] and members of the Dairy NZ Board for organizing this event.

I would like to acknowledge my Parliamentary colleagues: Hon Damien O’Connor, Ian McKelvie, Barbara Kuriger, and Fletcher Tabuteau.

There are also a large number of CE’s and leaders from business, government and local government here, including Kingi Smiler, Chairman of Miraka and Laurie Margrain, Chairman for Open Country Dairy, and Martyn Dunne, Director General of the Ministry for Primary Industries.