(ANSA) - Tetra Pak placed full-page advertisements in Italian dailies on Wednesday advising consumers that the company was no longer using the ink component IsopropilThioXantone (ITX) on its cartons.
Last week, Italian authorities ordered the recall of milk products by Nestle and Milupa contaminated with ink used for the logos and designs on the cartons. In the announcement the Swedish company said the European Food Safety Agency had confirmed that the substance was not dangerous.
"Nevertheless, in line with a principle of precaution, packages with the ink component ITX are no longer being produced in Italy," the ad said.
The company's Italian Chairman Paolo Nigro told reporters that Tetra Pak had stopped delivering the contested baby milk cartons to its Italian clients on September 30.
Nigro said the company was also considering taking legal action against consumer association Altroconsumo which on Tuesday said it had found traces of ITX in nine out of 25 products checked.
According to Nigro, Italy has been the only country to raise such a huge alarm over the matter.
"It is true that checks by health officials revealed traces of ITX in some cartons of baby milk but under current norms, the substance can be used in printing technology, though obviously it should not seep into the product," he said.
"It is not true that it is risky for consumer's health," said Nigro, stressing that ITX is not featured on the list of dangerous substances published by the World Health Organization.
After Italy ordered the recalls last week, a spokesman for the the European Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou told reporters in Brussels that "On the basis of the limited data available, the presence of ITX in food could be considered undesirable."
"However, it is not likely to present an immediate health risk at the levels reported," he said.
On Friday, Nestle CEO Peter Brabeck sent a formal letter of apology to Italian Health Minister Francesco Storace for a row over the seizure of the contaminated baby milk.
In his letter Brabeck withdrew claims that Nestle had agreed with EU and Italy's Health Ministry back in July that the possibly tainted products should be allowed to expire while it changed the production process for future products.
He apologised for a "memory lapse" which led him to date the contacts with the health ministry to July rather than September.
After the seizures, the Swiss food giant accused Italy of creating a "storm in a teacup".
