Last year’s milk melamine contamination scare -- linked to more than 300,000 illnesses and at least four infant deaths -- has led to death sentences for three individuals implicated in the scandal and, as Market Study participants have found, reexamination of the way milk is produced, marketed, processed, and safeguarded across China.
The U.S. Grains Council’s China office has stepped up educational efforts for Chinese dairy managers at its Sino-U.S. Dairy Training Center in cooperation with Huaxia Dairy Farm, a state-of-the-art operation 37 miles east of Beijing. Huaxia, founded by a pair of Californians who’d never previously milked a cow, provides a template for quality control and efficiency, with 800 cows delivering an average 8.5 gallons of milk per day.
Meanwhile, Shanghai’s Bright Dairy, a major Chinese processor, has automated its two billion-cup-per-year yogurt facility to reduce the chances of secondhand contamination. Market Study participants toured the plant’s interactive yogurt “museum,” which aims to teach the public about dairy health and Bright Dairy’s food safety measures.
“Fresh is the Future of the Chinese Dairy,” proclaims one of Bright Dairy’s slogans. Improved safety down the dairy chain will help seal the industry’s future. -- Martin Ross
Comments