The New Zealand government is bent on passing an almost forgotten bill through Parliament to expedite the government's inquiry into Fonterra's milk contamination scare.

The move to fast-track the Fonterra investigation involving food safety practices follows after three other inquiries on the same botulism scare incident which led other countries like China to issue a temporary ban on some of New Zealand's dairy products that left the nation losing out on millions of dollars in export revenue.

The five-year-old bill known as the Inquiries Bill was introduced in 2008 by the Labor Party which gives new powers to conduct inquiries at the ministerial level and require witnesses to provide evidence under oath. The Inquiries Bill was gathering dust in the Parliament's Order Paper.

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said that the Inquiries Bill will be passed in Parliament within three weeks to give the government powers to expedite an urgent inquiry into Fonterra. Mr. Key said the passage of the bill will enable the government to conduct an effective and fast investigation regarding the big question as to how the botulism-causing bacteria had contaminated Fonterra's whey protein concentrate. The whey protein concentrate is a key ingredient to Fonterra's baby formula.

New Zealand's dairy industry took a toll on Fonterra's botulism scare with consumer confidence in the product going down amid milk contamination issues. The government and industry regulators are left scrambling to repair the reputational damage caused by the milk scare.

On its own, Fonterra has announced two internal investigations to get to the bottom of the issue, while the Ministry of Primary Industries has promised to provide more details into its own inquiry.

Nutricia promises to restore consumer confidence

Meanwhile, Nutricia's Managing Director Corine Tap gave the public reassurance in her statement that the company will work hard on regaining the consumer's trust and confidence in its milk products.

At an Auckland press conference, Ms Tap said it's still too early for Nutricia to determine the damage brought by the recall of its Karicare infant formula, but the company has been listening to concerned parents calls made over the company's hotline.

Nutricia announced a product recall of its baby formula following the spread of milk contamination fears. The company was one of those who received batches of whey protein concentrates suspected of bacterial contamination which could lead to botulism, a deadly disease.

Ms Tap said Nutricia is currently focused on getting its milk products back in store shelves and assuring customers its products are safe to use.

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