Fresh concern over Chinese dairy products
Guangzhou official remarks that half of goods are not made from fresh milk
A recent comment by the deputy director of dairy management in Guangzhou, saying that half of the city's products are not made from fresh milk, has sparked public concerns over their safety.
"The gap [between supply and demand] can be filled only with a kind of reconstituted milk that is a mixture of imported milk powder and water," he was quoted as saying by the Guangzhou-based on Monday. "Therefore, the milk we drink is not 100 per cent fresh."
After that report, the newspaper said yesterday that it had received a flood of calls from residents asking which brands were made with reconstituted milk.
Wang told the newspaper that all three major brands in the city use reconstituted milk.
Some internet users lamented on their microblog accounts that nothing appeared to be safe to drink on the mainland.
Another commenter said the revelation explains why a slew of wealthy people in Shenzhen pay high prices for breast milk, referring to a report last week.
Besides pasteurised milk, which must be fresh, Wang said many other products, such as yoghurt, could be made from reconstituted milk.
The gap can be filled only with a kind of reconstituted milk that is a mixture of imported milk powder and water. Therefore, the milk we drink is not 100 per cent fresh
The Guangzhou-based Fengxing and Yantang dairy producers told the that they used reconstituted milk in some of their products, which was stated on the labels.
Another brand, Xiangmanlou, told the paper that it used fresh milk in all of its products.
The Shanghai Dairy Association's deputy secretary, Cao Mingshi , told the that it is common practice for dairy brands on the mainland to use reconstituted milk in their products because fresh milk is in such short supply.
"It is legal as long as they mark the contents on the labels. Consumers can make own their decision," Cao said.
