Aflatoxin levels in dairy products under control, announces China

Chinese food safety regulators have not found any further excessive levels of the carcinogenic substance aflatoxin during tests on dairy products manufactured by major dairy companies throughout the country.

Aflatoxin caught public attention last week after milk manufacturer Mengniu Dairy said that its Sichuan facility had destroyed dairy products that were contaminated with the cancer-causing substance, following a probe by the government quality watchdog.

Aflatoxin, which is produced by certain types of fungi, can infect crops, which enter the food chain either directly or indirectly through animal feed, and this toxic is known to cause severe liver ailments such as liver cancer.

China’s quality watchdog, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), launched special checks in December after two batches of dairy products manufactured by two domestic dairy companies, including Mengniu Dairy, were found to be contaminated with aflatoxin.

Following this, the regulators tested the dairy products of other firms including Beijing Sangyuan Foods, Yili Industrial Group, Nestlé and Bright Dairy & Food.

According to the AQSIQ, the carcinogenic substance originated from cows that consumed mildewed feed and disappears only when the animals stop consuming it.

Meanwhile, excessive levels of aflatoxin were also found in peanuts sold in two supermarkets and one frozen food outlet, and in cooking oil in four eateries, creating further panic in the southern province of Guangdong.

Food safety regulators recalled cooking oil manufactured by three companies in the Guangdong province: Fusheng Oil, Manyi Peanut Oil and Mabao Oil.

These are the latest food safety scandals to hit the country’s food industry since 2008’s melamine scare.

In 2008, about six children died and nearly 300,000 became ill after consuming milk that was tainted with melamine, a chemical added to diluted milk to make it thick and show high protein readings.

India, which has prohibited the import of dairy products from China since September 2008, has now extended the ban that was set to expire on 24 December.

Caption: China’s quality watchdog AQSIQ conducted tests on dairy products manufactured by major dairy companies after two batches of milk products were found to be contaminated with aflatoxin. (Image courtesy of Janine Chedid.)