China has ordered US pharmaceutical company Abbott to recall some products in the country over a botulism scare centred on New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra.
Two batches of Abbott's baby formula "risked having been contaminated by clostridium botulinum", the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) said in a statement on Tuesday.
Clostridium botulinum is a bacteria that can cause botulism, an infection that can lead to paralysis and death.
"The AQSIQ has required Abbott... to recall the relevant products to protect the health of Chinese consumers," the statement said.
The formula, intended for children aged between one and three, was produced by Fonterra on May 2 for a Shanghai subsidiary of Abbott.
Fonterra revealed at the weekend that a whey product used to make baby milk and soft drinks had been contaminated with the bacteria, and blamed the incident on a dirty pipe at a North Island processing plant.
Abbott said none of its products sold in China used the contaminated product, but the two batches of formula involved were packaged on a Fonterra production line that had residues of the tainted raw material.
"Although the two batches... do not expose any heath risks, we have decided to recall the products and destroy them as a precaution for the maximum benefit of customers."
Since the scare, restrictions have been imposed on Fonterra products imported into China, and several other companies have issued recalls in China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and New Zealand.
Fonterra is the world's largest dairy cooperative and New Zealand's biggest company, accounting for 89 per cent of the country's milk production in 2011.
Baby formula safety is a sensitive issue in China after milk tainted with the chemical melamine left six children dead and made more than 300,000 ill in 2008.
