WELLINGTON (REUTERS) - Fonterra CEO Theo Spierings said on Wednesday that all stocks of contaminated dairy products made and exported by the company had been taken out of the market, and there was little or no risk to consumers.

After visiting China earlier this week, Mr Spierings said the situation there had stabilised.

"I said at a press conference in China that I would not leave before the situation was stable from the perspective of markets, consumers, customers and global authorities," he told reporters at the company's headquarters in Auckland.

"We had all those discussions yesterday, and I decided late last night that the situation is stable."

Fonterra, the world's largest dairy exporter, has come under fire at home and abroad for dragging its feet in saying it sold whey protein products that contained a bacteria which can cause botulism - a potentially fatal food poisoning.