Paul Hutchison MP National Party Food Safety Spokesman
22 November 2005
Inquiry needed over beef export contamination
An inquiry is needed to find out why the New Zealand Food Safety Authority failed to detect export beef contaminated
with a pesticide toxic to humans, says National's Food Safety spokesman, Paul Hutchison.
The key functions of the NZFSA are to protect and promote public health and safety and to facilitate market access for
New Zealand food and food-related products.
"Food Safety Minister Annette King has refused to answer questions from the media on a matter which is crucial to our
export industry and which has resulted in the loss of a valuable contract to the South Korean military," says Dr
Hutchison.
Taiwan, Europe, the USA and Japan also received potentially contaminated meat. The issue was headline news on Taiwanese
television.
"While the NZFSA has been shown to have good traceability systems for New Zealand beef products, it is of huge concern
that they failed to detect endosulfan in New Zealand.
"A large number of farmers are angry about the situation, and Ms King and the NZFSA must answer their concerns," says Dr
Hutchison.
ENDS