New Zealand Sugar Company, trading as Chelsea Sugar, has been fined NZD 149,500 for manufacturing, distributing and selling sugar products contaminated with lead.
In November and December 2021, the company recalled thousands of packs of sugar products because of potential low-level lead contamination.
Two other product recalls were needed when it was later discovered that the New Zealand Sugar Company provided incorrect information to supermarkets, releasing more sugar products to consumers.
"These recalls had a significant impact on consumer access to certain sugar products, such as brown sugar. It also affected a large number of other businesses, which had to recall products made with the contaminated sugar," said New Zealand Food Safety Deputy Director General Vincent Arbuckle.
In the Auckland District Court, the company was sentenced on two charges it pleaded guilty to in May last year. These included breaching its National Programme (NP), designed to manage any food risk to consumers, and negligently endangering, harming, creating, or increasing risk to consumers by distributing its product.
A sentencing hearing was held in September last year, and the court has released its reserved decision.
Arbuckle said that the New Zealand Sugar Company knew its responsibilities to consumers, including ensuring the safety and suitability of its products and managing any potential risks to them.
It failed to properly detect the extent of lead contamination until after the imported sugar had been used in production.
"Offending at this scale is rare, and the Court’s sentence sends a strong message that it will not be tolerated.”
In September 2021, the New Zealand Sugar Company imported sugar from Australia that was contaminated with lead during sea transport. From this sugar, it manufactured and distributed 971 tonnes of contaminated sugar products to businesses in New Zealand.
The sugar had been freighted to New Zealand from Australia aboard the cargo ship Rin Treasure, a vessel used to ship metal sulphide concentrates (lead and zinc) on its previous voyage.
Before choosing this ship, New Zealand Sugar Company was advised the vessel failed a survey report on the 3rd of September, meaning it was not fit to load and transport bulk sugar. The vessel was cleaned before departure, and a cleanliness report certified that the vessel’s hold was in a fit state for the stowage and carriage of raw sugar.
However, the cleaning was inadequate, and the sugar cargo became contaminated with lead during the journey from Queensland. This contamination could have been exacerbated by a broken pipe aboard the vessel that spilled water into the sugar during the cargo unloading process by contractors.
Samples of the sugar were collected between the 15th and the 24th of September for testing. The New Zealand Sugar Company followed its normal process of producing sugar products from the cargo for distribution and sale.
The test result on the 7th of October showed high readings of lead contamination, but rather than take immediate action and stop production and distribution, they instead sought more testing, which confirmed the same result.
“Some of this product was sold between October and early November. We were not informed of the lead contamination until the 3rd of November, which is unacceptable.”
Arbuckle added that the New Zealand Sugar Company’s lack of definitive action resulted in a consumer-level recall of sugar products on the 4th of November, around 6 weeks after the contaminated product arrived in New Zealand.
"Although the short-term exposure to increased lead levels through these sugar products would not have endangered people’s health – we cannot afford to take a chance on public health.”
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