China Still Faces Milk Safety Challenges

                                                               Photo: Phototex
China Still Faces Milk Safety Challenges
Nation, page 12
*All dairy producers and retailers ought to stop producing and selling milk tagged with "antibiotic free", according to a circular released on the website of China's Ministry of Health in early May.
*The circular was introduced after it was discovered that some dairy farmers and raw milk collection stations had been using illegal additives like lactamase to dissolve antibiotics present in the raw milk.
*Wang Dingmian, of the Dairy Association of China, explained that the antibiotics present in the raw milk come from two sources. The first is associated with the use of antibiotics to treat mammary gland infections in cows. In the seven days following this treatment, the raw milk produced by these cows will contain traces of antibiotics. Aside from this, dairy farmers and raw milk collection station workers sometimes add antibiotics to reduce the amount of bacteria in the raw milk.
*Research showed that consuming milk with traces of antibiotics over an extended period would reduce people's immunity, cause skin disease and potentially cause severe allergic reactions among some consumers.
Original article: [Chinese]