Milk Contamination Update - September 2011

Articles in the September 2011 editions of China Today and NewsChina magazines (neither available on their English-language websites) both address recent food safety scandals.

So far in 2011, per these sources and other news outlets, Chinese consumers have put up with contaminated pork, dyed steamed buns (made with cardboard), recycled bread, recycled cooking oil, contaminated duck, poisoned bean sprouts, noodles, and peppers, seen watermelons explode in their fields due to applications of artificial growth hormones, and pork cuts that glow in the dark.

And as we’ve linked on the weninchina.com Formula Concerns page, tampering with China’s milk supply continued well after the 2008 tragedies became common knowledge.

The China Today article lists various regional and local law-enforcement initiatives put forth to encourage the public to report tampering and punish producers who violate the law, inferring that food safety standards in the People’s Republic are similar or better than international and US regulations.

In contrast, the NewsChina article cites a domestic expert saying Chinese dairy products “some of the worst in the world” and the majority of milk available “is no better than ordinary water.”

This article reports the regulations on bacterial density in raw milk were changed in 2010 to allow up to 2 million microorganisms per milliliter – 20 times more than the American standard, and 70 times higher than the Danish regulation. The minimum requirements for protein content were also relaxed and are now well below international standards.

NewsChina claims in the article these changes were in the interest of the two largest dairy companies, Mengniu and Yili (who together control over half the Chinese market), to allow them to use lower-quality, lower-priced raw milk supplies which can be processed at high temperatures, as opposed to traditional pasteurization. The high-temperature method allows the milk product to be shelf-stable for up to 3 months so it can be distributed nationally, but it also requires adding protein and thickening agents. (The melamine added to raw milk in the 2008 scandals was to make the milk appear to pass the protein-standard tests.)

The article notes disagreement among Chinese dairy-industry experts – milk processors cite the low quality of raw milk coming from independent farmers as the reason for needing lower standards, but others say the low prices being paid by the processors are keeping farmers from improving farm conditions and equipment that would create better-quality supply. NewsChina notes Mengniu and Yili have greater spending on advertising and distribution than on efforts to improve their supply chain quality.

Until this market imbalance significantly changes – as it did in Western countries over the 20^th Century – to include dairy price supports, farmer-led co-operative production organizations, and independent and rigorous public health authorities, the presence of stiff laws will not prevent further scandals. The China Today article acknowledges this, quoting Xu Hu, deputy director of Public Order Administration of the Ministry of Public Security: “…the cost of lawbreaking is perceived as low, and the law will not really protect consumers and potential victims.”

For families traveling to China for adoption, it is still recommended to heed the 2008 milk powder / infant formula warnings, and bring formula from home or international brands picked up in Hong Kong. For adults and older children just visiting, don’t avoid milk products (like ice cream) outright, but as with any food, pay attention to your senses – if something seems not right, eat something else.