September 6, 2010

Unsafe foreign dairy products show increase in China

The amount of unsafe foreign dairy products seized during importation is on the rise in recent months in China.

A report on substandard imported food and cosmetics released by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) said a total of 402 tonnes of unsafe dairy products were returned or destroyed in June.

The amount far outnumbers the 22 tonnes in April and 27 tonnes in May. It is also 10 times more than the 40 tonnes of unsafe dairy products seized in June 2009, according to the AQSIQ.

Among the products seized in June this year, 401 tonnes were milk formula, making up 99.8% of the total.

Data showed the problematic milk formulas were from countries and regions including New Zealand, Singapore, the US, Australia, France and Taiwan.

Problems with the products included the presence of enterobacter sakazakii, a bacteria that can lead to infection, as well as excessive amount of nitrites, zinc and total bacterial count, the AQSIQ report said.

Hunan Huayi Trading Co Ltd topped the list as the importer of 201 tonnes of unsafe milk formula from Australia in June and 131 tonnes from France in March.