1 October 2015

1 minute read

Asia

Trading was halted on 29 September so the company could make an announcement on reports that its high-calcium milk products contained excessive sodium thiocyanate.

Hebei Food & Drug Administration had previously said that levels of sodium thiocyanate had exceeded food safety reference values and issued a consumer warning. Sodium thiocyanate occurs naturally in milk at low levels, according to Huishan, but commercially it can be used for chemical synthesis and dying.

However, Huishan Dairy said in a statement that samples sent out for testing contained levels of the chemical lower than the national reference level. They also found no evidence of sodium thiocyanate contamination on the production line or in the transit vehicles.

Huishan questioned the testing procedures of Hebei FDA, saying that laboratories used were not qualified for the procedure, and that the measures taken against the company were inconsistent with food safety policies.

Hebei FDA said that its experts had decided that there were risks to do with the milk and that was why they had issued the food safety warning. In a statement, the Administration added that it had withdrawn the food safety warning after conducting further tests on more milk samples, which showed low levels of sodium thiocyanate.

TheCattleSite News Desk