Unpredictable milk market

Consumers need to research carefully, choose reputable milk brands, and buy at reputable establishments to ensure quality (photo taken at BRG Mart Hai Duong supermarket)

Confused about buying fake milk

When nearly 600 types of fake milk were discovered on the market, many consumers in Hai Duong felt confused and worried. Immediately, many people compared the milk they and their relatives were using with the fake milk that had just been exposed by the authorities and were shocked because they had been buying fake milk for a long time.

Ms. Hoang Thi Thu L. in An Thanh commune (Tu Ky) is one such case. Ms. L. breastfed her child until he was 1 year and 6 months old. Before that, Ms. L. had supplemented with powdered milk but the child did not cooperate. After weaning, Ms. L. began to research many types of powdered milk, through groups of mothers' comments and reviews of milk, and looked up information about many types of milk online. She changed to many types of milk and finally her child agreed to drink PC100 milk - a type advertised for children aged 1-6 with poor appetite, slow growth, and stunted growth who need nutritional supplements, with many ingredients imported from New Zealand and produced by Rance Pharma Company.

“This type of milk costs 460,000 VND/box, my child has been drinking it for over a year now. When I saw nearly 600 types of fake milk being announced, I was shocked to see that the type of milk my child was drinking was on this list. Knowing that I had bought fake milk, I stopped using it immediately. There were sleepless nights, looking at my child and feeling sorry for myself. I was very worried, not knowing how long-term use of fake milk would affect my child's health,” said Ms. L.

The type of milk that Ms. Hoang Thi Thu L. in Tu Ky has been using for her child for over a year now. This type of milk is on the list of nearly 600 types of fake milk discovered by authorities (photo provided by the character)

As a person who loves dairy products to take care of the health of everyone in the family, Ms. Pham Hoang M. in Thai Hoc street, Sao Do ward (Chi Linh) was introduced to using milk products purchased online. For more than a year, Ms. M. has persistently let her 5-year-old child use this product. After taking her child to the National Children's Hospital for a nutrition check-up, Ms. M. found that her child's iron and calcium levels were lower than average. When the doctor talked about the nutritional content of the milk, Ms. M. was shocked that the quality of the milk she chose did not contain the necessary protein, iron, vitamins, etc. "There are many types of milk on the market, I cannot distinguish the quality of the milk. Each box of milk I buy is also 500,000 - 600,000 VND/box, not because I am greedy for cheapness", Ms. M. shared.

Not only does low-quality milk mix into the market to deceive consumers, another trick many milk stores use to pick the pockets of consumers is to import "hand-carried" milk from foreign countries such as Japan, America, Germany... These products do not have Vietnamese labels, and do not have documents proving their origin.

Before the recent revelation of nearly 600 types of fake milk, many people were startled when in August 2024, the Chi Linh City Police Investigation Agency prosecuted Nguyen Trung Vuong (born in 1983, residing in Co Nhue 1 Ward, Bac Tu Liem District, Hanoi), General Director of the Netherlands Dairy Products Joint Stock Company, for producing and trading in counterfeit food products. During the investigation, the police collected 67 product samples from 33 types of products of the Netherlands Dairy Products Joint Stock Company. The appraisal results showed that 65 out of 67 product batches had quality indicators below 70%, with a total quantity of goods of 29,400 cans/boxes of milk and an invoice value of more than 4.1 billion VND.

Buy from reputable establishments

Many imported milk products are sold without Vietnamese labels as required (photo taken at a grocery store in Hai Duong City).

Mr. Tran Dinh Nam, Head of the Provincial Food Safety and Hygiene Department (Department of Health) said that the Food Safety Department (Ministry of Health) has requested localities to review and provide information related to establishments producing and trading fake milk. Through the review, from 2021 to now, 11 enterprises related to the fake milk production and trading line that has just been exposed have not declared their products in Hai Duong.

According to Mr. Nam, the milk products of these 11 enterprises can be sold at business establishments in Hai Duong. Consumers can buy them at stores or easily buy them through social media channels and e-commerce platforms.

The inspection and examination of dairy products is regularly carried out by the provincial Food Safety and Hygiene Department. However, the dairy businesses in the province are small and widely distributed, while the human resources are limited, the budget for sampling and sending samples for testing is limited, so it is difficult to assess the quality of products during the inspection process. According to Mr. Nam, to choose milk that ensures quality, consumers need to research carefully, choose branded milk, and buy at reputable establishments to ensure quality.

Mr. Tran Van Toan, Head of the Provincial Market Management Department (Department of Industry and Trade) said that in response to the Action Month for Food Safety 2025 from April 15 to May 15 and in the coming time, market management teams will continue to strengthen inspection and review of a number of groups of goods and products, especially milk, to promptly handle any violations if they are detected.

11 companies involved in the fake milk production and trading chain include: Rance Pharma, Hacofood Group, International Group, International Big Four Pharma, Long Khang International Pharmaceutical Group, BFF Medical Nutrition, Safaco International Pharmaceutical Group, Darifa International Pharmaceutical Group, Win CT International Pharmaceutical, Phuc An Khang Nutrition Pharmaceutical and Asia Pharmaceutical.

THANH HUYEN

Source: https://baohaiduong.vn/kho-luong-thi-truong-sua-409557.html