So not eco-terrorism, then

It's a relief all-round that the alleged blackmailer has been caught, and our more robust food safety systems will boost our global reputation. So will the MPI's transparency – although argument also lingers about whether it kept things under wraps for too long, or not long enough.

But it's also worth remembering that the scare was not handled seamlessly, especially in the light that the accused – identified only as a 60-year-old businessman – was apparently motivated by profit rather than any anti-1080 political extremism (he has not yet entered a plea to the charges or offered an explanation or, indeed, said  if he is innocent).

On March 10, as news of the scare broke, Prime Minister John Key and several senior cabinet ministers labelled the attack on New Zealand's milk powder industry as a form of "eco-terrorism." That phrase was quickly splashed on the BBC's home page, as well as being picked up by CNN in the US ("Eco-terrorism' threat to poison infant formula in New Zealand"), ABC in Australia and multiple others. Taiwanese media criticised New Zealand for not making the threat public sooner.

At the time, it didn't seem such a smart move to raise the unproven possibility that New Zealand's main export was being held hostage by eco-terrorists (and bear in mind anti-1080 activists had condemned the blackmail attempt).

Now that it has emerged the 1080 letter was allegedly a cash-grab attempt, it looks even more like needless and damaging scare-mongering.

It's also worth noting that not all in the dairy industry supported MPI and the government's decision to go public.

NZ Infant Formula Exporters Association chief administrative officer Chris Claridge slammed MPI for breaking with best international practice by giving “oxygen” to a probable hoax threat to contaminate New Zealand infant formula with 1080 poison. Wacko threats came in weekly, he said. Why was this one being publicised? If it had been eco-terrorists, surely they would have relished the high drama of the twin press conferences in Auckland and Wellington on March 10, with top politicians and Fonterra and MPI brass falling over themselves to emphasise the gravity of the threat.

And on March 12, Mr Claridge questioned MPI's delay in issuing formal notice to infant formula exporters of the requirement for 1080-clearance certification for the Chinese market. He said even formula exported the day before the March 10 press briefings was not certified. Mr Claridge said up to $30 million of milk powder had been exported without 1080-clearance since authorities first learned of the threat in November 2014. Delays were caused, which were damaging for smaller exporters, as milk powder sat on Chinese wharves.

And then there's the curious case of why the March 10 press conferences were called at such short notice, guaranteeing maximum media frenzy.

Mr Key said the government's hand had been forced by media queries from NBR, Fairfax and TVNZ.

But all three media organisations only knew something was up at MPI. None of us (sorry, readers) had clocked to the 1080 scare. It's still hard to see why such a gung-ho approach was taken on March 10.

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