China’s food safety regulator has asked three milk producers in central China to recall their infant formula powders, and called upon authorities in Shaanxi province to punish producers that are found to have broken laws.
The advice follows the discovery of dangerously high levels of nitrate in some samples of powdered milk products – and comes just seven years after batches of milk products sold in China were found to have been contaminated with melamine, causing the death of at least six children, ill effects for an additional 300,000, and breaking consumers’ confidence in the country’s dairy sector.
China has continued to rely on New Zealand for imports of infant formula products ever since, and last month Chinese investors announced that they would build a new $50m dairy factory on New Zealand’s North Island to help satisfy the ongoing demand for New Zealand-made infant formula, which is perceived to be of a higher quality by Chinese consumers.
Shaun Bossons, executive vice president of transparency specialist Trace One, said: “This recent food scare with powdered milk has opened fresh wounds and caused further lasting damage to the reputation of the food industry in China. Transparency is now important for every retailer or supplier: for brand protection, consumer confidence and ensuring food safety. Retailers and manufacturers need to be able to quickly identify all impacted products and act to remove any impact to customers, especially in cases such as these when confidence may have already been substantially damaged by previous events. Responsible retailing means being able to say with full confidence that swift action has been taken and ensure that the impact on consumers is minimised as much as possible.”
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