Mengniu launches new packaging

BEIJING - China's major dairy Mengniu has launched new packaging for its products at over one million locations in 300 cities.

The move is to improve product quality, its largest shareholder COFCO Corporation said Friday.

Analysts said the new packaging was intended to demonstrate the firm's determination to provide safe products and repair its image after its products were found tainted with carcinogen aflatoxin late last year.

According to a statement from COFCO, which is China's leading food and beverage company, all the company's raw milk will come from formal rangelands by 2015.

Mengniu President Sun Yiping said the company will invest 3 to 3.5 billion yuan (552.9 million U.S. dollars) over the next five years to build or jointly construct vast natural landscapes in efforts to ensure product quality at source.

The company will also introduce the rangeland management system of Denmark as well as design and manage its rangelands following international standards, Sun said.

Earlier in June, the company signed a deal with Arla Foods that gave the Danish-Swedish dairy group a 5.9-percent stake in the enterprise.