The government of New Zealand has launched an official probe into dairy exporter Fonterra in connection with its tainted dairy scandal in China.

 

　　New Zealand government officials have been sent to Fonterra's offices in Auckland and Melbourne to investigate and track the tainted products.

 

　　The probes are said to surround why Fonterra waited more than 48 hours to release information about the possible contamination.

 

　　Fonterra has also confirmed the New Zealand Ministry of Primary Industries is studying data connected to the contamination scare.

 

　　The company says the contamination is due to a pipe that had not been sufficiently cleaned.

 

　　Fonterra discovered that some of its products were tainted with bacteria which can cause botchulism.

 

　　The company has since recalled the products in question.

 

　　Chinese authorities have since suspended all dairy imports from New Zealand and Australia while the probe is underway.

 

　　Dairy accounts for around a quarter of all of New Zealand's exports.

 

　　For more on this, we're joined live now by Benjamin Cavender, Associate principal at China Market Research in Shanghai.