New Zealand DCD issue has China concerned

Chinese food safety agencies are looking for further reassurance from New Zealand’s government after  traces of the chemical residue Dicyandiamide (DCD) were found in New Zealand milk powder. The companies supplying the products have suspended the sale and use of DCD on farmland until further notice.

Small levels of dicyandiamide (DCD), used in some fertilisers, have been found in some dairy products. The product is being used in New Zealand agriculture to increase pasture production and its application directly onto land is one of the more promising ways of improving nitrate leaching to water and greenhouse gases. While there is said to be no food saefty concern, the Chinese State General Administration of Quality, Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said at a briefing that China would “continue to pay attention to and investigate” the case.

The ministerial-level agency had met with the New Zealand ambassador to China, Carl Worker, and asked New Zealand to provide a risk assessment report as soon as possible, the website of the Chinese Communist Party’s official newspaper says.

Chinese media have reported that Worker has apologised to Chinese consumers for the doubts caused by suspending the use of DCD on New Zealand farms. The level of residue found in the milk powder is reported to have been 100 times lower than European Union limits, but in other parts of the world there are no standards. Dairy industry officials say a 60kg person would have to drink 130 litres of milk or 60kg of powder to reach the European limit.