Misguided campaign
OPINION: Last week, Greenpeace lit up Fonterra's Auckland headquarters with 'messages from the common people' - that the sector is polluting the environment.
Fonterra has confirmed the products of three of its customers that received whey protein concentrate (WPC80), Wahaha, Coca-Cola and Vitaco, are safe to consume because of the way they are manufactured.
These three beverage companies use whey protein concentrate in either UHT, yoghurt or acid beverage products.
Fonterra's managing director of NZ Milk Products, Gary Romano, said: "Our technical teams have been working closely this weekend with Coca-Cola, Wahaha, and Vitaco and have established that the process used to manufacture their products would kill the bacteria that was in the affected whey protein concentrate.
"In the case of Coca-Cola and Wahaha, the combination of low pH and ultra-high temperature treatment gives us complete confidence that acid beverages and yoghurts (pH <4.5) are safe. In the case of Vitaco, the ultra-high temperature treatment gives us the same confidence.
"We appreciate the way these customers have worked so quickly with us through this process and are pleased to be able to reassure consumers of the safety of their products."
Fonterra will continue to provide updates as they become available.
Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford says the 2025 Fieldays has been one of more positive he has attended.
A fundraiser dinner held in conjunction with Fieldays raised over $300,000 for the Rural Support Trust.
Recent results from its 2024 financial year has seen global farm machinery player John Deere record a significant slump in the profits of its agricultural division over the last year, with a 64% drop in the last quarter of the year, compared to that of 2023.
An agribusiness, helping to turn a long-standing animal welfare and waste issue into a high-value protein stream for the dairy and red meat sector, has picked up a top innovation award at Fieldays.
The Fieldays Innovation Award winners have been announced with Auckland’s Ruminant Biotech taking out the Prototype Award.
Following twelve years of litigation, a conclusion could be in sight of Waikato’s controversial Plan Change 1 (PC1).