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Debate: Safe milk

(China Daily) Updated: 2011-06-27 07:56

Qiao Zhifeng

The fault lies in supervision as well

Some experts have said the standard of dairy products in China is one of the lowest in the world. They arrived at such a conclusion at a recent seminar on the dairy industry.

Media reports have quoted Wang Dingmian, director-general of the Dairy Association of Guangzhou, as having said that the standards in China are so low mainly because a few large companies control the dairy sector. Nada Mude, secretary general of the Dairy Association in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, said the standards are low because they have been set according to "China's national conditions".

To correct the situation, senior experts suggest that China promote pasteurized milk so as to eliminate the unsafe factors that milk sold in the market today has.

The experts may differ over the level of control some large companies have over China's dairy industry, but they agree that the standards of products are lower than that followed across the world and that they have been lowered further with each adjustment. No wonder many Chinese people traveling abroad rush to buy milk powder from supermarkets to bring back home.

A netizen has even posted a comment online that says there are only three ways to get safe milk: raising cattle on one's own farm, buying milk overseas or migrating to another country. Although this view is not entirely true, it reflects the doubts and concern of consumers and the low standards of dairy products in China.

It seems that the dairy industry is using China's national condition as an excuse to supply low-standard products. But there is no reason to blame "China's national condition" for the ills in the dairy industry.

The experts have said that non-pasteurized milk sold in China contains harmful bacteria which compromise people's health. Hence, it is not wise to lower the standards of dairy products, for it will only serve some dairy companies' interests and harm consumers' health.

Long-term development of the dairy industry can be realized only through stringent regulations. This will not only re-establish the reputation of China's dairy industry, but also will be in the interest of dairy companies in the long run.

Moreover, neither the explanation given by certain large dairy companies nor "China's national condition" is the fundamental reason for the deteriorating quality of dairy products. The three "chief culprits" for low-standard dairy products are blind pursuit of profit by dairy companies, deficiency of responsibility and lax supervision.

The mess in China's dairy industry has been created not only by some companies or individuals. It is also the result of neglect of duty on the part of supervision and management departments. How else could 95 percent of the public's suggestions be ignored while changing the national milk quality standards in 2010? A single or a certain group of dairy companies could not have afforded to ignore the public suggestion.

It is worrying to see some companies using dairy products' standards to their advantage. But it is more worrying to see that the authorities are allowing them to do so.

While telling dairy companies and farmers to follow business ethics is very important, it is a lot more important to urge the authorities to replenish their actions with some "ethical blood" of their own.

The article first appeared on red.net.

(China Daily 06/27/2011 page9)