23 samples of milk powder poisonous
23 samples of milk powder poisonous
Inspectors check the origin of milk at the Citimart Supermarket in Ha Dong City on saturday. —VNA/VNS Photo Huu Oai
Ha Noi — Authorities are taking action to keep melamine-contaminated milk and milk products from reaching consumers after 23 samples tested positive for the poisonous substance as of Saturday.
Melamine by itself is non-toxic in low doses, but when combined with cyanuric acid it can cause fatal kidney stones, especially among children. Melamine is harmful if swallowed, inhaled or absorbed through the skin. Chronic exposure may cause cancer or reproductive damage.
Besides minimising contaminated product impact, it is also a priority now to minimise losses suffered by milk enterprises and maintain societal health and nutrition despite tightened market control, said Deputy Minister of Health Cao Minh Quang.
Up to 500 samples have been sent in for melamine testing, and the ministry has authorised 22 laboratories and 15 inspection teams with members from the ministries of Health, Industry and Trade, and Public Security to check product quality, said Quang.
There is no time limit for inspections that started last Friday at milk producing, trading and serving establishments throughout the country.
The Ministry of Health said enterprises would be allowed to announce the quality of their products if the tests are negative, and will be required to report to authorities and withdraw their products if the tests are positive.
Any enterprise found concealing positive tests would have its business licence withdrawn and be subject to legal action. “Enterprises must bear their responsibility to the Ministry of Health and the community,” Quang said.
The contamination scare has resulted in most consumers refraining from using milk and milk products.
“A number of kindergartens and nurseries have suspended the use of milk as food for the children. This is extremely dangerous, as it has a huge impact on the children’s health,” Quang said.
In the latest official memo to the heads of the People’s Committees of all 63 provinces and cities in the country, authorities asked that the suspension of the use of milk for the children at kindergartens and nurseries be ended; the control over the source of milk to those establishments tightened; the supply of additional milk by parents to their children during their school time stopped. The document also suspended the circulation of all kinds of milk, material and products without clear sources.
Quang described the decision as “extremely resolute and unprecedented.”
Deputy Minister of Education and Training Pham Vu Luan also instructed in a memo to education institutions that the managers of the schools and universities disallow the use of milk and milk products that contain melamine or whose source is unknown; companies supplying milk to the schools produce certificates that their product is melamine free; clinics get prepared to provide timely treatment to those with symptoms of poisoning from milk products.
Quang said he had received 17 reports from provincial departments of health about the boycott against milk and milk products, even though not all of them are unsafe. This boycott has led to huge losses to traders and farmers alike.
The largest loss suffered by an enterprise over this contamination crisis was as much as VND17 billion (over US$1 million), said Tran Quang Trung, chief inspector of the Ministry of Health.
Cutting milk purchase
The Ha Noi Milk Joint-stock Company (Hanoimilk) announced it was cutting 50 per cent of the milk purchase from household producers, shocking 560 families in Gia Lam District, Ha Noi, who are raising over 1,000 cows.
“We do not bother to milk the cows, because we cannot sell the milk. We do not know how to get money to pay for the daily life and for the loans to the bank,” Nguyen Luot, a Phu Dong villager said.
Sharing Luot’s feeling, Nguyen Nhu Tam in Vinh Phuc Province, said he had to throw away unsold milk valued at VND60 million over three days. Before the milk scare, the agent for Hanoimilk sold up to 5 tonnes of milk everyday to the company.
“I borrowed VND200 million to buy 30 cows. If I cannot sell the milk for one more week, I will surely go bankrupt. I hope some ways out for this will be found for us,” he said.
Many of Luot’s neighbours tried to make the full use of the unsold milk by feeding it to their animals or even bathing with the milk.
In an effort to help farmers, some companies are buying the milk anyway, although this will lead them to some losses as they try to maintain a long-term business strategy.
Nguyen Huu Khai, director of the International Milk Joint Stock Company that operates in Ba Vi District in Ha Noi, said his company is buying milk from farmers at a price of VND8,200 per kilo with a view to keeping the 2,300 cows in the district.
The information on the reduced purchase of milk from farmers is untrue. There is no reason to reduce or delay the purchase as the company has signed contracts with the farmers, Nguyen Thi Nhu Hang, deputy general director of Vinamilk said.
A representative of Dutch Lady also reiterated that the company is keeping the purchase “as usual.” — VNS
By : http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn
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Tags: Cao Minh, Chronic Exposure, Citimart Supermarket, Deputy Minister, Health And Nutrition, Health Industry, Huu, Kidney Stones, Kindergartens, Milk Powder, Milk Products, Minister Of Health, Ministries Of Health, Ministry Of Health, Poisonous Substance, Product Impact, Public Security, Societal Health, Vna, Vns Photo