24 April, 2024
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Response From Fonterra

By Leon Clement –

Leon Clement, Managing Director of Fonterra Brands SL

Leon Clement, Managing Director of Fonterra Brands SL

The article that appeared on the Colombo Telegraph website on 20.10.14 contained a number of false and inaccurate statements and we feel it’s important that readers know the truth.

Providing our consumers in Sri Lanka and around the world with safe and high quality dairy products is our number one priority. This means conducting close to seven million tests on our milk and products every year to ensure that they meet rigorous international, and local, food safety and quality standards.

The article refers to DCD. No traces of DCD were ever found in any Fonterra Brands Sri Lanka products and this has been confirmed by all of our testing and independent tests from international laboratories.

The article also talks about bacteria in a product that could cause botulism. However it fails to mention that this was a false alarm meaning that this was never a food safety risk to anyone, and it’s important to point out that the product in question never even entered Sri Lanka in the first place.

We take food safety seriously and as a responsible dairy food company we always put our consumers’ well-being at the heart of everything we do.

*Leon Clement –Managing Director, Fonterra Brands Sri Lanka

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Latest comments

  • RICHARD / October 24, 2014
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    Mr. Clement, would you also like to comment on the milk powder sweepings repacked in 25 kg ‘un-marked’ bags and sold to a selected number of customer who have sworn to secrecy not to divulge the source. Each 25kg bag (with all Fonterra markings removed) is packed with whatever milk powder sweepings collected that day and may some times contain a mix of non-fat, full cream, infant milk powder, etc. These powders are re-packed in your warehouse in Biyagama and find there way to the wholesalers in Pettah, yoghurt and ice cream manufacturers.
    There was an instant the sales office was informed by a customer that the milk powder collected from Biyagama had worms in it. Your sales people collected the consignment and refuse to re-sell again to this customer for complaining. If you dare to deny any of this I will publish, invoices and pictures of your milk powder purchased in unmarked bags and also pictures taken of the worms inside these same bags. Would you like to take up the challenge?

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    • JULAMPITIYE AMARAYA / October 24, 2014
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      Many thanks to you Mr Richard
      and appreciate your discloser for enlightening the readers too..

      /
    • Robert.R / October 24, 2014
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      Could you do that? I am sure Colombo Tele will allow you to expose this if TRUE.

      Until you can prove it, we have to assume innocence.

      /
    • Peace Lover / October 24, 2014
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      Good one Richard and I hope Clement will rise to the occasion to meet your challenge!

      I think even garment manufacturers do these pratices but a Milk company doing this is playing with peoples health and totally unacceptable

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    • Goraka / October 24, 2014
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      Richard, it is your duty to publish whatever your got for the good of the consumers.

      You don’t need to ask for anyone’s blessing or challenge anyone.

      /
    • Vivian / October 24, 2014
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      Dear Richards,

      If you have the information, why don’t you publish these stuff and make a police complaint?!! Why are you making threats on a website?!!!

      I have been giving my child Anchor for years and I grew up on Anchor. It is strange that all this talk about Anchor crops up at odd times and then die away. If there is any issue with the milk why hasn’t a single report been produced by Champika, Namal and crowd?!!

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    • Kirti / October 24, 2014
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      Richard, you are so full of empty threats and lies. Only cowards use blackmail

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    • someone / October 25, 2014
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      Richard,

      You bloody idiot, what happened to your [Edited out] challenge? Now disclose your facts and data. It is not between you and Leon but with the consumer of the country. If you can’t prove your authenticity you are a [Edited out] joker used to wank in public forums.

      /
  • Aranolis Appu / October 24, 2014
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    Mr.Clement who pays for your advertising. It must be costing at least 2Mn a day

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    • Peace Lover / October 24, 2014
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      Mr Arnolis your comment is silly ,please understand that Fontera is a business and businesses have to make profit,they are not charity based organisations hence they will have a an advertising budeget

      You sound as if they are charity and have to account for their advertising budget!

      /
  • justice / October 24, 2014
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    Fonterra has earlier admitted tainted products and apologised for same.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/06/business/global/new-zealand-dairy-giant-apologizes-over-tainted-formula.html?_r=1&

    The benefit of the doubt about purity of its products must be given to consumers.
    Milk is big business and the consumers are brainwashed that it is essential for all – even grandmothers are encouraged to drink milk.
    We were breastfed till two years of age and this is also advocated by WHO.

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  • gamini / October 24, 2014
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    I believe it is foolish for any business to sell products that are contaminated that would affect their own business in the long run or even in the short run. At the same time it is also possible for some unscrupulous to extract money from large businesses, threatening to expose falsehoods to make easy money. Names of Namal Rajapaksa and Champika Ranawaka being mentioned in this Fontera scandal, the latter seem more likely.

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  • Upali / October 25, 2014
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    In the Global food industry today, errors and mistakes do occur. There are quality management systems in the industries such as HACCP and ISO 22000 to detect problems and when reputed industries find the errors they recall products (How many thousands of motor cars are recalled annually in the world by all big manufacturers?)
    In Sri Lanka people have the habit of attacking big companies. Are we controlling the use of hydrogen peroxide in our local industry ??. Nobody questions them. I have seen a milk collector at Ambewela washing a lorry load of milk cans in a paddy field using fertilizer and pesticide contaminated water. Many people refill milk cans without properly washing them. These things never come out. When somebody some information in the internet they try to convert and apply it to multi national industries here. Be reasonable ! Please do not go with hidden agendas my dear Sri Lankans.
    I am waiting to see the information from Richard to prove his case.
    Iknow how the mik packets are opened in the port by crows and how the sweeping goes to market. That is not Fonterra. Richard please come out with your data.

    /
  • Upali / October 25, 2014
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    In Sri Lanka people have the habit of attacking big companies. Are we controlling the use of hydrogen peroxide in our local industry ??. Nobody questions them. I have seen a milk collector at Ambewela washing a lorry load of milk cans in a paddy field using fertilizer and pesticide contaminated water. Many people refill milk cans without properly washing them. These things never come out. When somebody some information in the internet they try to convert and apply it to multi national industries here. Be reasonable ! Please do not go with hidden agendas my dear Sri Lankans.
    I am waiting to see the information from Richard to prove his case.
    Iknow how the milk packets are opened in the port by crows and how the sweeping goes to market. That is not Fonterra. Richard please come out with your data.

    /
  • Conserned Consumer / October 25, 2014
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    At the height of the “created” crisis by the ITI, who did not have proper testing devices then, vested interests got in to the band-waggon and wanted Anchor knocked out of local market. ITI even named one brand that is imported from Australia (which has band the use of DCD altogether.) How could they named this brand to be taken off shelf? These unscrupulous business competitors wanted to increase their market share (which is very low compared to Anchor)by preventing Anchor market here and to capture the market vacuum created. There are big name associated with secretly funding anti-Anchor campaign (which also included a loud-mouthed politician.) Even some of those flag-bearers of “Apa rata they siri sepa they” got into the act without realizing that what “Apa Rata” produces is a minute percentage of our requirements and that we still need to depend on imports. Well and good if we produce enough with what we produce locally. If there are justifiable accusations, make them and prove them. Otherwise allow us to have a level playing field so that we can make our own judgement.

    Mr. Justice:
    Do you have any scientific proof that milk is not essential for us?, then provide those findings. Then you say
    “We were breastfed till two years of age and this is also advocated by WHO.” Well and good,but let’s face the reality. You talk of a different era. Could working mothers do that that long now? Or should they leave their jobs to breast-feed. It is an economic decision that fathers and mothers have to take.

    /

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