New Zealand Prime Minister John Key has expressed his disappointment over news of bacterial contamination in Fonterra's baby formula which caused China, the country's biggest importer of New Zealand dairy products, to ban all milk imports from New Zealand.

The Prime Minister said that the first priority of Fonterra should be to restore consumer confidence after the latest milk contamination scare.

The giant exporter of milk based in Auckland is at the center of an ongoing international storm over food safety issues since Fonterra announced that a concentrated whey protein used in its baby formula may contain bacteria linked to the deadly disease, botulism.

The PM said that he has many questions about the suspected contamination which has affected Fonterra's shares, the New Zealand dairy industry and the Kiwi dollar. He also expressed concerns about the immediate and lingering effects of the botulism scare on New Zealand's export industry.

Fonterra has explained that the whey product in question was produced in May 2012 and the bacterial contamination was discovered during testing.The PM said it was not enough for Fonterra to announce consumers can't use the contaminated baby formula, Fonterra should have been more careful in ensuring food safety and quality since it is the country's largest brand and company. Fonterra is also the largest exporter and a flagship brand of New Zealand.

However, the PM has emphasized that the Ministry of Primary Industries and Fonterra were right in taking a precautionary approach on the matter. He also said that he was disappointed but now is not the time to point fingers and look for someone to blame and it is the government's best interests to ensure milk consumers from around the world have the best information.

Fears of botulism especially from concerned parents using New Zealand's baby formula were raised after Fonterra publicly announced a "potential quality issue" on its three batches of whey protein concentrate from its Hautapu plant in Waikato.

The botulism neurotoxin is said to be one of the deadliest and most potent substances known to man. Exposure to the neurotoxin can cause muscle paralysis or worse, death.

A recall notice was issued in August 4 for a second batch of Nutricia infant formula especially formulated for younger babies over the same concerns that it could be contaminated.

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