[EnM4]

http://www.beijingshots.com/2011/12/zero-tolerance-to-tainted-milk/

One of China’s largest milk producers, Mengniu Dairy Co. Ltd. was snared in another food safety scare on Dec 27 after the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (GAQSIQ) released its test results of fresh milk products of Mengniu’s Meishan, Sichuan-based plant. Excessive levels of cancer-causing alfatoxin M1, 140 percent more than national standard, were found in the tested sample.

Even if the Inner Mongolia-based company openly apologized to consumers on its website immediately after the scandal, its credit, even the reputation of the whole Chinese dairy industry, just took a heavy battering.

Compared with its net profit of 583 million yuan in the first half of 2008, Mengniu’s deficit for the second half of 2008 hit 1.48 billion yuan as a result of the melamine incident. A bunch of large domestic dairy companies were involved in the melamine scandal, including Mengniu and 6 babies died, thousands more seriously ill. It took several years of efforts for the whole national dairy industry to regain consumers’ trust.

The latest alfatoxin M1 scandal proves not only another tough test for Mengniu, but also a heavy blow to domestic consumers’ fragile patience.

But Mengniu’s response poured oil on the flames again. The company conveniently attributed the carcinogens to mildewed feed given to cows in its Sichuan-based rangeland, because the local weather is wet and warm, making the feed deteriorate quickly. Mengniu used to defend itself that its products are not to blame but the harsh weather and poor stock and transportation conditions in August and September after its yogurt sold in some cities in southern China was found containing mould.

Its annual report of 2010 boasts that more than 70 percent of Mengniu’s milk comes from its 14 largest ecological rangelands across China and it will invest another 20 to 30 large rangelands in the future. And each pack of its milk goes through 9 processes, 36 monitory points and 105 tests before sales. The bar-type printed on each pack of Mengniu-branded milk include all quality-concerned information throughout all production process, from rangeland to final storage cans.

All these rest-assured guarantee pale against the latest scandal. But it serves now at least as a reminder for Mengniu of the common sense of milk industry that milk producers should be responsible for the quality of its dairy products, which is actually related to every stage of production, including rangeland management, storage and transportation.

Different from melamine, alfatoxin M1 has long been listed in China’s dairy product quality test. GAQSIQ’s test result exposes Menniu’s self quality monitoring fails completely this time to find out the strictly-banned harmful agent.

Expanding its network by building up plants, Mengniu’s annual sales in 2010 grew by 17 percent year-on-year to more than 30 billion yuan. The company executives need remain extremely sober and cautious in this crucial stage of fast development.Otherwise, all their previous efforts will be wasted by repeating quality scandals. The former Hebei-based Sanlu dairy company, which collapsed and whose executives were imprisoned because of the melamine case in 2008, is just a case in point.

Instead of pointing fingers at weather conditions, Mengniu should take this scandal as a warning chance to take concrete actions to strengthen its quality check and monitoring as a responsible dairy producer. For the consumers’ zero tolerance as for food safety issue, Mengniu’s reputation cannot afford another food safety scare again.