Recently, Dumex’s “Arla Baby & Me” Infant
Milk Formula product were found by market regulatory authorities in
China to contain the prohibited substance vanillin. Other brands in which
vanillin was detected include Bioshine’s first stage goat milk powder and
Ausnutria’s first stage milk powder.
According to the related reports from 2016
to 2022 and sampling data from the marketing department, 50% of the infant milk
powder failing inspection was first stage milk powder (aimed at infants between
0 and 3 months), and among these first stage infant milk powders that failed
inspection, vanillin was present in 19% of them, second only to Enterobacter
sakazakii.
In response to the detection of vanillin in
these products, most enterprises insisted that the inspection failure is due to
the contamination of the products by packaging materials, containers, and means
of transportation during the production process. However, experts in the dairy
industry believe that many enterprises may add vanillin into these infant
products in order to improve the taste of baby’s milk powder. Although vanillin
is not harmful, milk powder manufacturers still need to effectively improve
quality control.
Chinese infant formulas forbid flavor
additives including vanillin
A Chinese dairy expert, Liang Song, told a
news reporter that the quality of infant formula has been the topic of
discussion many years. A few years ago, the focus was on food safety, such as
the discovery of the bacterium Enterobacter sakazakii in baby milk powder. In
recent years, discussion mostly focuses on excessive or non-standard elements
found in sampling inspections, such as the prohibited substance vanillin.
Vanillin is a commonly-used food additive.
Because of its vanilla bean aroma and strong milky flavor, it is widely used in
various flavored foods that need to increase the aroma of milk, especially
dairy products, baked goods, beverages and edible oils. The use of vanillin in
accordance with the standard requirements does not cause health hazards to the
human body, but a large amount of vanillin may cause symptoms such as
dizziness, nausea, and in severe cases, liver and kidney damage.
According to China’s “National food safety
standard for use of food additives (GB2760-2014),” no artificial flavors should
be added to formulas for infants aged from 0 to 6 months, while older infants
and young children formula can consume vanillin in limited quantities according
to regulations.
Milk powder brands found to contain
vanillin include Mead Johnson, Arla, Ausnutria, Weiquan, Abbott and Primavita.
These companies were each fined nearly RMB 10 million.
Inspection failures indicate strict
standards rather than safety concerns
Currently, China’s management of infant
milk powder is very strict, so most of the milk powder supplied to China must
meet high quality standards. Often, if ingredients in imported infant milk
powders exceed acceptable standard, it is not by a large margin. Therefore,
while the recent vanillin matter shows the strictness of Chinese domestic
standards, these failures of inspections do not indicate a safety issue.
The main function of vanillin in food
products is to enhance flavor in order to make infants and young children have
taste dependence, but there is no clinical evidence that vanillin causes harm
to infants. In Europe and the United States, first stage milk powder is allowed
to include vanillin, and imported milk powder is frequently sampled for
vanillin, mainly because batches of milk powder produced by foreign factories
are supplied to China. After each batch of milk powder is produced, the pipes
in the production machinery must be cleaned. If pipes are not properly cleaned,
then a trace amount of vanillin will be detected in the production of
subsequent batches.
For more information, please check our Dairy Products China News.
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