Milk scandal still rearing its ugly head
- Source: Global Times
- [01:58 July 14 2010]
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Supervisory gaps
Earlier this year, three domestic companies were caught selling tainted milk products, whose contents were traced back to the leftover products from the 2008 scandal.
This prompted the national government to carry out another crackdown on toxic milk in early February.
The National Food Safety Rectification Office revealed in March that 25,100 tons of contaminated milk powder had been found in 31 provinces during the 10-day investigation, and most of it was burned or buried in garbage dumps.
The agency stressed that most of the powder had been sealed by local governments as of September 14, 2008, suggesting there were few remains of undestroyed melamine-tainted milk powder.
Wang, however, estimated in February that there was at least 100,000 tons of undestroyed toxic milk on the market, even after the massive sweep in 2008, adding that it might be consumed in the form of food and animal feed.
Health Minister Chen Zhu said in February that technological limitations affect the task of destroying the problem products, while Wang pointed instead to a breach of duty by local food-safety watchdogs.
"They failed to supervise the recalled products, only asking the dairy companies to hand them over and bear all the cost," Wang said, adding that this afforded some firms a chance to not comply without getting caught.
According to the Provisions on Food Recall, enacted in 2007, local quality-control departments are responsible for monitoring recalled food, including its destruction, if necessary.
Wang also noted that the monitoring of intermediate links between manufacturers and end-users, or the dealers across the country, are absent at local levels.
Wang Weina, the mother of a 1.5-year-old boy in Yingkou, Liaoning Province, told the Global Times that she has seldom bought milk products since the melamine scandal, and that includes milk candies.
"If my son wants to drink fresh milk, I will choose the local brand, as I know more about its production process and can trust its safety," she said.
Liu Linlin contributed to this story
