New Zealand dairy maker to mend ties with China

WELLINGTON - The leaders of New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra on Friday announced they would lead a board of directors visit to China next week to rebuild trust with Chinese "stakeholders" after the botulism scare of the last month.

Fonterra Chairman John Wilson and CEO Theo Spierings said the cooperative's board had already planned to visit China in early September to meet with Fonterra staff and stakeholders, and view progress on Fonterra's farming hub in Yutian, Hebei Province.

"Now that it has been confirmed that there was no Clostridium botulinum in our whey protein concentrate, we need to address any remaining concerns our stakeholders in China might have," Wilson said in a statement.

"The feedback we have been getting is that people believe we did the right thing in initiating the precautionary recall, but at the same time we want to provide every assurance about our food safety and quality systems and processes," he said.

"The visit provides an important opportunity to help rebuild trust and respect for Fonterra and New Zealand dairy products and confirm our commitment to supporting the Chinese dairy industry," said Wilson.