Melbourne based dairy manufacturer Oz Dairy has been accused by a Chinese television program of tampering with “use by” dates on milk powders.
The consumer rights program alleges that the Oz Dairy – which promotes itself as the producer of superior grade, high quality dairy products – altered the expiry dates on its OZ Milko baby formula cans, SMH reports.
The accusation comes as the demand for Australian and New Zealand dairy products continues to gain momentum due to China's insatiable demand for high quality dairy products, however food safety fears could potentially damage demand.
Last year, China banned imports of both whey powder and infant formula from New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra amid fears that the product could be contaminated with Clostridium botulinum, a food-borne pathogen that causes a severe form of food poisoning called botulism.
In response Fonterra issued a widespread recall of the product, only to discover that the scare was a false alarm.