Dairy industry hit by new safety scandal

Customer confidence in dairy products may sink to new lows despite Mengniu Dairy Group, one of China's leading milk producers, apologizing after some of its products were found to contain excessive amounts of a known carcinogen.

A recent sample check by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) detected 1.2 micrograms per kilogram of Aflatoxin M1 in pure milk products made on October 18 by Mengniu's Meishan branch in Sichuan Province.

The amount more than was twice the allowed maximum of 0.5 micrograms per kilogram.

"The problem was found before the products reached the market. The company has immediately sealed up and destroyed all the products," Mengniu said in a statement Sunday, pledging to intensify supervision and management on food safety.

A customer service operator with Mengniu told the Global Times Monday that the problem was caused by feeding mildewed and rotten forage to cattle.

However, Mengniu's statement failed to quiet public anger.

"An apology makes no difference. I will not choose Mengniu anymore," Li Ying, 28, an employee in a law firm in Beijing, told the Global Times.

"I am truly shocked and worried at the news. I just drank a box of milk from Mengniu. How could they make such a big mistake?" said Li, who is seven months pregnant.

"I wonder if there is any lawyer who plans to sue Mengniu. If so, I will support them unconditionally," Yu Jianrong, a sociologist at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Monday on his Sina microblog.

This is not the first time Mengniu has been involved in a safety scandal.