The New Zealand company Sealord secretary Terry Horne said all its canned tuna product deliveries had been halted. The recall also affected Sealord canned tuna and its Salmon Sensations product, which are packaged in Thailand.
The scare followed a Food Safety Authority warning that people should be alert to the possibility that food and beverages could be tampered with.
Staff at a Blenheim supermarket, Redwoodtown SuperValue, discovered a suspicious powder on Wednesday while unpacking a carton of Sealord products that had been packed in a Thai factory.
Police were called and a sample of the suspicious powder was sent to a Wellington laboratory for tests. Paramedics checked supermarket staff at the scene. Sealord secretary Terry Horne said the company had halted all deliveries of the products. Test results were expected back today.
Horne said no evidence existed that the carton in Blenheim had been tampered with. An audit of the supply chain was under way. Staff who came into contact with the powder in Blenheim was treated by paramedics and public health unit personnel.
Thorndon New World owner Brian Drake said an e-mail was received this morning from the supermarket chain's owner Foodstuffs, instructing staff to remove the products. The e-mail was headed "high priority" and warned the cans should be treated with caution but did not say why they were being recalled.
Drake said the cans were put in sealed plastic bags and he was waiting for further instructions from head office. Staff was warned not to touch any further cans returned by customers. These were to be secured in zip-locked bags.
Retailers around the country have been told to remove the product from their shelves as a precautionary measure, until test results were available, probably later today.
Horne said Sealord was working closely with police and the FSA, and laboratory test results have in fact shown today that the white powder found in Sealord's canned tuna tested negative to cyanide and anthrax.
Sealord Company Secretary Terry Horne says they are relieved about the initial results, but that they were conducting an internal inquiry to establish the source of the white powder. "We've got independent checks being made in our supply chain from the factory to the consumer." Horne said no evidence existed that the carton in Blenheim had been tampered with. There had been no other reports of white powder in Sealord products.
The scare comes after cyanide-laced letters were sent to the New Zealand Herald newspaper, threatening to poison food and drink.