Powdered milk being sold as fresh product

Many of the locally produced “fresh” milk drinks on sale in the country are actually produced from powdered milk – despite producers claims to the contrary, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Competition Control Department.

Dairy cows in Viet Nam produce about 30 per cent of the fresh milk on the market, which means most of the rest, more than 60 per cent, is made from powdered milk, the department said.

Vu Thi Bach Nga, head of the Department’s Consumer Protection Unit, said in Ha Noi last Saturday there was a massive discrepancy between the amount of pure fresh milk produced by domestic cows and the amount sold by businesses as originating in Viet Nam.

In 2009, there were more than 262 million litres of fresh milk produced by domestic dairy cows, while the amount of locally produced milk or flavoured milk drinks on the market reached nearly 453 million litres, she said.

“It is difficult for consumers to determine whether milk or milk drinks are fresh, and businesses take advantage of that,” she said.

“Many businesses even produce low-quality products to boost profits,” Nga added.

Meanwhile, under Government Decree No 89/2006/ND-CP that governs product labelling, flavoured milk drinks must clearly state whether they were made from fresh or powdered milk.

Meanwhile, Le Hoang Vinh, director of the Ba Vi Milk Company, said it cost 30 per cent less to produce flavoured milk drinks from powdered rather than fresh milk.

In 2009, the price of imported powdered milk was about US$2,000 per tonne. At that price it would cost just VND5,000 ($0.26) to produce one litre of milk, as opposed to about VND7,200 ($0.37) to produce a litre of fresh milk.

He added that products produced from powdered milk would have less nutritional value than those from fresh milk.

Nguyen Thi Quynh Chi, head of the Ha Noi Women Consumers’ Club, said producers should be forced to identify not only if they had used powdered milk, but also to name and specify the quantities of the ingredients used.

Nga said the Ministry of Industry and Trade would work with relevant departments and agencies to carry out more inspections of businesses.

Under current regulations, firms face fines and criminal prosecution if they fail to properly label their products, according to the Ministry of Science and Technology’s Department of Goods Quality Management.

Tags: Powdered milk