China’s scandal-ridden dairy industry is again the focus of public scrutiny. This time, aflatoxin, a cancer-causing element, was found in samples of Nanshan Bywise infant formula. From Reuters:
Five batches of Nanshan Bywise infant milk powder produced between July and December last year failed sample tests for aflatoxin, a toxin produced by a fungus that is widespread in nature, the Guangzhou Industrial and Commercial Administration Bureau said in a statement issued last Friday.
Hunan Ava Dairy, indirectly owned by a fund run by CITIC Capital, said in a statement on its website that it will recall all infant formula in question and halt production and distribution. The company said the source of the aflatoxin contamination was due to cows eating moldy feed.
And this is just a tip of the iceberg compared to the massive scandals in China’s food industry. Mark Mcdonald at the New York Times looks into how the country’s food-safety mess that has caused nationwide panic:
Rendezvous recently explored the food-safety mess in China, where baby formula is just one of the hot-button issues. Imitation soy sauce has been made from hair clippings, ink and paraffin are used to dress up cheap noodles, and pork buns get so loaded with bacteria that they glow in the dark. There’s formaldehyde on the cabbages. There’s chlorine in the soft drinks. There’s chromium in the gelatin capsules.
[…] In the 2008 melamine scandal, various milk products, notably baby formula and milk powder, were found to contain melamine, an industrial additive used to make fertilizer and industrial piping. Dairy producers were using the melamine to make their milk appear to have higher protein levels than it actually did.
Read more about China’s food safety issues via CDT.
