18 Sep 2014

Fonterra-Danone relations poor

7:21 am on 18 September 2014

It appears certain Fonterra has lost the giant French food company Danone as a customer for good following the impact of last year's botulism scare.

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Danone's products include the Karicare formula range for infants and toddlers. Photo: RNZ

In July, Danone's legal action against Fonterra was put on hold by the High Court which said arbitration should happen first.

Danone wants compensation for both lost sales and other costs totalling hundreds of millions of euros, and for damage to its reputation.

Speaking after the ceremony to mark the amalgamation of Danone's Nutricia with two other companies, Danone Nutricia's New Zealand and Australian managing director Corine Tap made it clear her company would not be dealing with Fonterra again.

"Clearly that scare created so much anxiety and excitement and angst amongst our consumers. This is seriously hitting hard on business, so therefore in order to stand by mums and nurture new lives, we need to work with partners that can meet the quality and safety standards that are required."

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