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Local Chinese officials only acted after the New Zealand Government contacted the central government in Beijing, New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said today.

"They (Fonterra) have been trying for weeks to get official recall and the local authorities in China would not do it," Miss Clark said on TVNZ.

"I think the first inclination was to try and put a towel over it and deal with it without an official recall."

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http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24347563-401,00.html