Ban on Chinese dairy imports to India extended until June 2012
- Details
- Published on Thursday, 26 January 2012 00:55
INDIA - The Indian government has extended their banon milk and milk imports from China until 24 June 2012.
Without providing any specific reasons, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said that the ban, which was originally set to end on 24 December last year, has been further extended for six months.
This covers all milk and several dairy products like chocolates and confectionary products that has milk or milk solids.
Chinese dairy imports were first banned from India at the height of the melamine dairy contamination scandal that is reported to have caused the deaths of at least 12 infants and affected more than 300,000 children.
Although this latest ban extension announcement by DGFT did not mention anything about melamine, sources within the Indian dairy sector say that India will most likely extend its ban on Chinese dairy products until such time that all doubts regarding safety issues is eradicated.
On their part, the Chinese authorities have continued to thoroughly check and audit all dairy companies. Many contamination issues which have arose have been dealt with harshly.
Most recently, China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) found aflatoxin - a carcinogenic known to cause cancer in the liver - in Chinese dairy giant Mengniu’s products. The agency said that the company’s division in Sichuan produced pure milk that had 1.2mg per kilo of aflatoxin, more than half of the allowed maximum of 0.5mcg/kg.
Mengniu was also implicated in the 2008 dairy scandal which thrust China’s food safety problems in the spotlight. Other large dairy companies such as Yili Group and Bright Dairy Farms were also involved in the 2008 dairy ruckus.
See related story:
