Fonterra Apologizes for Tainted Milk Powder Scare

　　New Zealand dairy firm Fonterra has apologized for its tainted¹ milk powder scandal.

 

　　Batches² of the whey protein from the dairy giant were allegedly found containing toxic³ bacteria.

 

　　Su Yi has more.

 

　　Fonterra CEO Theo Spierings says Fonterra regrets any distress⁴ and anxiety that the scare may have caused.

 

　　"We deeply apologize to the people who have been affected⁵ by the issue, to guarantee to you that food safety and safety of the people of China but also around the world is our first and foremost interest. We totally understand that there is concern of parents and other consumers around the world. Parents have the right to know that infant nutrition and other dairy-related products are 100 percent safe."

 

　　He also says Fonterra is committed to China and is working with regulators to address the problem.

 

　　At the same time, the government of New Zealand is stepping into the fray⁶, calling on the company to provide "absolute clarity on the situation."

 

　　New Zealand's Prime Minister John Key,

 

　　"When you've got a company that's our largest company, our largest brand, our largest exporter that is the flagship for New Zealand and your whole business is about food safety and food quality you think they'd take such a precautionary view to these things and say if it's testing for some reason in an odd way that it would just be discarded until they were absolutely sure that it's right."

 

　　Parents say they are worried as imports of milk powder from New Zealand are now banned in China.

 

　　"Domestic brands are no good, and now foreign brands are no good either. I have no idea how to choose. Domestic brands were exposed before, so we drunk imported milk powder. Now milk powder from New Zealand has been exposed, so when we go home we need to discuss it with the baby's mother and father again to see which milk powder we can choose."

 

　　"My baby has just been born, and we have been using this brand because we thought it was a good brand. I felt very angry when I saw the news yesterday, because this could really hurt my baby. As parents, we want our baby to be healthy, so I want to buy milk powder that we can trust. But now foreign products aren't any good either."

 

　　Fonterra is New Zealand's biggest exporter - it sells over 370-thousand tons of infant formula each year to China.

 

　　Around one-third of all the dairy imports here to China this year come from New Zealand.

 

　　For CRI, I'm Su Yi.

1 tainted   

adj.腐坏的；污染的；沾污的；感染的v.使变质( taint的过去式和过去分词 )；使污染；败坏；被污染，腐坏，败坏

参考例句：

• The administration was tainted with scandal. 丑闻使得政府声名狼藉。
• He was considered tainted by association with the corrupt regime. 他因与腐败政府有牵连而名誉受损。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 batches   

一批( batch的名词复数 )； 一炉； （食物、药物等的）一批生产的量； 成批作业

参考例句：

• The prisoners were led out in batches and shot. 这些囚犯被分批带出去枪毙了。
• The stainless drum may be used to make larger batches. 不锈钢转数设备可用来加工批量大的料。

3 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

4 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

5 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

6 fray   

v.争吵；打斗；磨损，磨破；n.吵架；打斗

参考例句：

• Why should you get involved in their fray?你为什么要介入他们的争吵呢？
• Tempers began to fray in the hot weather.大热天脾气烦燥。