China to overhaul its dairy industry

2008-11-20  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

CHINA yesterday launched a major campaign to reform its dairy industry in an attempt to restore consumer confidence, after tainted milk powder killed four babies and sickened more than 54,000 others.

The Cabinet wants to upgrade the entire industry from cow breeding to final sales.

The tainted milk scandal was a major food security incident. It not only damaged the health of babies and children, but also hurt China's national image, said an official with the National Development and Reform Commission.

"The crisis has put China's dairy industry in peril and exposed major problems existing in the quality control and supervision of the industry," said the official.

According to the campaign, the Ministry of Health will revise the quality and safety standard of dairy products, and the Ministry of Agriculture will draft an examination standard for checking of melamine and other poisonous elements in animal feedstuff. The two tasks are required to be finished within a year.

Before the new standard takes effect, dairy producers and sellers should follow existing national standards.

The Cabinet asked local governments to supply necessary instruments and devices to quality control and agricultural departments to ensure regular examination.

A tracking system will be established to record the flow and delivery of dairy products.

By the end of October next year, related laws and quality standards should be established, and measures be taken to push forward standard production in the industry.

The goal is to have well-bred cows and a mass-producing dairy industry by October 2011, the Cabinet said.