New Zealand milk comes under scrutiny

Milk imported to South Korea from New Zealand has been found by the country to contain traces of melamine, it has been reported.

As a result, South Korea's food safety agency said it has now banned New Zealand milk imports into the country.

Lactoferrin, the product in question, is manufactured by the Tatua Cooperative Dairy Company. The firm has now also banned exports and is tracing other destinations the milk was sold to.

However, the firm's chief executive officer Paul McGilvary said that there is currently "quite a lot of sensitivity around melamine, even at low levels".

After tests, New Zealand's Food Safety authority found that milk from the company was not contaminated with melamine.

South Korea recently banned several Chinese products, including baby formula and cookies, after Chinese babies became sick due to melamine poisoning.

Tatua's website states that it is an "autonomous, independent dairy company owned entirely by 124 farmer shareholders" that was founded in 1914.