Beijing has accepted reality and lowered the mainland's minimum protein level for raw milk in what is seen as a move to discourage dairy farmers from adding the toxic industrial chemical melamine to their milk in order to pass protein tests.
The new national safety standard for dairy products, in force since the start of last month, lowered the minimum protein level required for raw milk from 2.95 per cent to 2.8 per cent, a dairy official said in Beijing yesterday.
The old standard had been in place since 1986 but most of the milk produced in some provinces failed to make the grade.
The mainland's dairy industry was rocked by scandal two years ago when it was discovered that farmers had been adding melamine to raw milk to increase nitrogen levels and fool protein tests. At least six children died from kidney failure and 300,000 others suffered from kidney stones caused by the melamine. Beijing blamed greedy farmers and dealers and executed two dealers last year to discourage the practice.
Wu Heping , secretary general of the Heilongjiang Dairy Industry Association, told a Ministry of Health press conference that the standard had been lowered to 'respect the reality of the domestic dairy farm industry'. He said that between 75 per cent and 90 per cent of raw milk in some provinces had failed to reach the old protein level standard in 2007 and 2008. 'Raw milk produced by healthy cows whose protein level is lower than 2.95 grams per 100 grams does exist,' Wu said.
Most mainland dairy farms are small businesses with about three-quarters of farmers owning fewer than 100 cows. Almost a third own fewer than five.