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Tuesday, 21 June 2011
Chinese dairy standards ‘lowest in the world’
China’s dairy industry has the lowest quality standards in the world and much of the blame is down to the large companies that dominate it and the rock-bottom prices they pay farmers for raw milk, say industry experts.
China’s dairy industry has the lowest quality standards in the world and much of the blame is down to the large companies that dominate it and the rock-bottom prices they pay farmers for raw milk, say industry experts.
‘Milk processors and farmers all know that the problems of low protein content and high bacteria counts in milk are easy to solve with money, but they have instead reduced investment because of the low profit margins,’ said Mr. Wang Dingmian, the former vice-chairman of the Guangdong Provincial Dairy Association.
Mr. Wang said that if cows were fed enough, the protein content of the milk they produce would increase within a week.
But dairy farmers have instead fed their livestock less food because of the low prices they get from the big dairy companies for their milk.
The high bacteria count in milk is caused by insufficient investment in milk processing, Mr. Wang added.
China relaxed its national milk quality standards last year, increasing the maximum limit of bacteria acceptable in raw milk from 500,000 per ml to two million per ml, and lowering the minimum requirement for protein content from 2.95g per 100g of milk to 2.80g.
In comparison, international standards for protein content call for 3g per 100g of milk, while the amount of bacteria in raw milk in Europe is limited to 100,000 per ml.
Mr. Wang pointed out that the revised standards were drafted by Chinese dairy giants Mengniu Dairy and Yili Industrial Group.
Food safety experts claimed that the dairy giants had ensured there were looser standards in place as some of their plants could not meet higher standards.
‘It’s common that branches don’t keep up with the standards of the parent company,’ said Mr. Sang Liwei, a food-safety lawyer and the China representative of the non-governmental organisation Global Food Safety Forum.
In April, 251 children at a primary school in Yulin, Shaanxi province, fell ill after drinking school milk manufactured by one of Mengniu’s local plants in the province.
Test results released later said the milk met China’s national standards.
‘This shows the national standards for milk quality are imperfect,’ Mr. Sang said.
Mr. Wang suggested that farmers be paid a premium for higher quality milk, so they will be motivated to raise the quality of their products.
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Chinese dairy standards ‘lowest in the world’
China Daily
21 June 2011
China’s dairy industry has the lowest quality standards in the world and much of the blame is down to the large companies that dominate it and the rock-bottom prices they pay farmers for raw milk, say industry experts.
‘Milk processors and farmers all know that the problems of low protein content and high bacteria counts in milk are easy to solve with money, but they have instead reduced investment because of the low profit margins,’ said Mr. Wang Dingmian, the former vice-chairman of the Guangdong Provincial Dairy Association.
Mr. Wang said that if cows were fed enough, the protein content of the milk they produce would increase within a week.
But dairy farmers have instead fed their livestock less food because of the low prices they get from the big dairy companies for their milk.
The high bacteria count in milk is caused by insufficient investment in milk processing, Mr. Wang added.
China relaxed its national milk quality standards last year, increasing the maximum limit of bacteria acceptable in raw milk from 500,000 per ml to two million per ml, and lowering the minimum requirement for protein content from 2.95g per 100g of milk to 2.80g.
In comparison, international standards for protein content call for 3g per 100g of milk, while the amount of bacteria in raw milk in Europe is limited to 100,000 per ml.
Mr. Wang pointed out that the revised standards were drafted by Chinese dairy giants Mengniu Dairy and Yili Industrial Group.
Food safety experts claimed that the dairy giants had ensured there were looser standards in place as some of their plants could not meet higher standards.
‘It’s common that branches don’t keep up with the standards of the parent company,’ said Mr. Sang Liwei, a food-safety lawyer and the China representative of the non-governmental organisation Global Food Safety Forum.
In April, 251 children at a primary school in Yulin, Shaanxi province, fell ill after drinking school milk manufactured by one of Mengniu’s local plants in the province.
Test results released later said the milk met China’s national standards.
‘This shows the national standards for milk quality are imperfect,’ Mr. Sang said.
Mr. Wang suggested that farmers be paid a premium for higher quality milk, so they will be motivated to raise the quality of their products.
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