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Milk producers deny cheating over fake ’fresh milk’ claims
Viet Nam Dairy Association Vice Chairman Nguyen Tuan Khai told Tien Phong (The Vanguard) newspaper that the sale of milk products of dubious origin was partially the fault of the local dairy industry.
What is your assessment of a situation where milk firms are not clearly labelling their milk products?
The dairy sector has just re-organised the Viet Nam Dairy Association and agreed to set up a common standard of milk products nation-wide. The reason the sector was at fault was because it did not clearly explain the issues to consumers.
While countries worldwide are familiar with powdered milk, public opinion in Viet Nam is still not aware of it. Everyone believes fresh milk is best. But the thing is how the country can provide enough fresh milk while its dairy herd remains so small.
Countries have to use 10 litres of fresh milk to process one kilo of powdered milk and vice versa. Whole cream UHT milk has a shelf life of one year maximum.
Many producers are currently labelling sterilised, pure milk on the front of milk packaging while they only write it is made of powdered milk on a list of ingredients. Is that legal?
Before, the Food Hygiene and Safety Department under the Ministry of Health allowed producers to label pure, fresh milk for milk products using wholly fresh milk with sugar. But it is no longer valid now. Producers are not allowed to claim ‘pure’ milk if they use wholly fresh milk with sugar.
The association have also recently discussed the issue that producers are not clearly labelling milk products. It is needed to explain that since the ‘subsidised economy’ period from 1975-86 people think of milk as fresh milk, nothing else. This explains why most big firms are labelling their products as fresh milk when in liquid form. The matter has only recently been uncovered by the press and it is not totally right to say milk producers are cheating. It was a labelling ‘habit’ if you like. Firms have already made some changes after the press raised the issue.
You said firms have fallen into a habit of labelling sterilised milk as being ‘fresh milk’ partially because of historical reasons. But under a standard set by the country in 2002 all liquid milk products which use powdered milk must clearly be labelled ‘reconstituted sterilised milk’?
It is true but the document does not regulate that producers must label that name on the front of milk packaging or on its side. Protests were raised against this regulation among milk companies during 2002-07 as they argued such labelling did not match international practices. Law makers also found it reasonable so they did not review the regulation after that. Until now producers have not yet agreed about how to label milk products using powdered milk. The Viet Nam National Codex Committee has also reached a consensus not to label ‘reconstituted sterilised milk’ on packaging. It says producers can label sterilised milk if the product is made of powdered milk. But they must write powdered milk on the list of ingredients.
But the standard remains valid. Are firms allowed to deny it if they do not agree with it?
Since 2002 until now, milk producers and enterprises have asked to no longer be forced to use ‘reconstituted sterilised milk’ on packaging. They proposed the change at its meetings with the ministries of health, agriculture and rural development, and science and technology. As far as I know, concerned offices are preparing to issue new regulations on labelling.
It is impossible to rely only on the existing dairy herd to develop dairy industry. Thus powdered milk is also a solution.
VietNamNet, VietNamNews
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