Clipping Board » Illness Enters through Mouth ─ The information that has been made public is often just the tip of the iceberg...
NOWnews November 20, 2013 Reporter Chen Kunkai / Taipei Report
Today’s (20th) issue of *Business Weekly* reported that up to 70% of the market share of commercially available fresh milk contains veterinary drugs, including antidepressants, contraceptives, plasticizers, and estrogen, which may be harmful to human health. The Ministry of Health and Welfare emphasized that the Council of Agriculture (COA), responsible for managing the source of "dairy cows" and "raw milk," is conducting a comprehensive investigation of domestic dairy farmers to verify the accuracy of the report. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health and Welfare will simultaneously conduct spot checks on the nine well-known dairy products named in the report.
*Business Weekly* commissioned Chen Liangyu, an associate professor in the Department of Biotechnology at Ming Chuan University, to test the fat-soluble substances in commercially available dairy products. The investigation covered five types of fresh milk, including Uni-President’s Dr. Milker Premium Whole Milk, President’s High-Quality Fresh Milk, Wei Chuan’s Lin Feng Ying High-Quality Fresh Milk, Kuang Chuan’s Unadjusted Ingredient Fresh Milk, and Kuang Chuan’s Dairy Family High-Quality Pure Fresh Milk, as well as four flavored milk products: President’s Chocolate Milk, Wei Chuan’s Papaya Milk, Taiwan Bifido’s Cocoa Good Friend, and Kuang Chuan’s Malt Milk.
The results revealed that none of the top three brands—Wei Chuan, Uni-President, and Kuang Chuan—which collectively account for 70% of the market share, were exempt. Residues of antibiotics and other veterinary drugs used to treat dairy cows were found in their fresh milk, all of which are prohibited substances that should not be detectable.
Jiang Yumei, Deputy Director of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), stated that the COA oversees the source control of "dairy cows" and "raw milk." The COA has already begun a full-scale investigation of domestic dairy farmers. To ensure public safety, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, responsible for the final product "fresh milk," has also launched immediate spot checks on the three implicated brands and nine dairy products to clarify the facts.
Jiang Yumei emphasized that since *Business Weekly*’s testing methods, samples, and instruments are not from a national-level laboratory, and dairy cows naturally secrete hormones, the key priority is to determine whether metabolites such as estrogen are naturally produced by the cows or artificially added.
Since the detected veterinary drug components are not among the 108 legal veterinary drugs approved by the COA for dairy farmers, Jiang Yumei explained that if dairy cows are not allowed to use these drugs, fresh milk should also not contain any residues. There is no permissible residue standard. Depending on the harm to human health, if manufacturers cannot clearly demonstrate the source, they may face fines ranging from NT$60,000 to NT$15 million under the *Food Sanitation Management Act*. Otherwise, the COA will penalize the source dairy farmers.
Source: http:/ / tw. news. yahoo. com/ 7% E……9% B3% E5% 93% 81- 090348197. html
70% of Milk Contains Banned Drugs? Health Ministry Tests 3 Named Brands, 9 Dairy Products
Today’s (20th) issue of *Business Weekly* reported that up to 70% of the market share of commercially available fresh milk contains veterinary drugs, including antidepressants, contraceptives, plasticizers, and estrogen, which may be harmful to human health. The Ministry of Health and Welfare emphasized that the Council of Agriculture (COA), responsible for managing the source of "dairy cows" and "raw milk," is conducting a comprehensive investigation of domestic dairy farmers to verify the accuracy of the report. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health and Welfare will simultaneously conduct spot checks on the nine well-known dairy products named in the report.
*Business Weekly* commissioned Chen Liangyu, an associate professor in the Department of Biotechnology at Ming Chuan University, to test the fat-soluble substances in commercially available dairy products. The investigation covered five types of fresh milk, including Uni-President’s Dr. Milker Premium Whole Milk, President’s High-Quality Fresh Milk, Wei Chuan’s Lin Feng Ying High-Quality Fresh Milk, Kuang Chuan’s Unadjusted Ingredient Fresh Milk, and Kuang Chuan’s Dairy Family High-Quality Pure Fresh Milk, as well as four flavored milk products: President’s Chocolate Milk, Wei Chuan’s Papaya Milk, Taiwan Bifido’s Cocoa Good Friend, and Kuang Chuan’s Malt Milk.
The results revealed that none of the top three brands—Wei Chuan, Uni-President, and Kuang Chuan—which collectively account for 70% of the market share, were exempt. Residues of antibiotics and other veterinary drugs used to treat dairy cows were found in their fresh milk, all of which are prohibited substances that should not be detectable.
Jiang Yumei, Deputy Director of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), stated that the COA oversees the source control of "dairy cows" and "raw milk." The COA has already begun a full-scale investigation of domestic dairy farmers. To ensure public safety, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, responsible for the final product "fresh milk," has also launched immediate spot checks on the three implicated brands and nine dairy products to clarify the facts.
Jiang Yumei emphasized that since *Business Weekly*’s testing methods, samples, and instruments are not from a national-level laboratory, and dairy cows naturally secrete hormones, the key priority is to determine whether metabolites such as estrogen are naturally produced by the cows or artificially added.
Since the detected veterinary drug components are not among the 108 legal veterinary drugs approved by the COA for dairy farmers, Jiang Yumei explained that if dairy cows are not allowed to use these drugs, fresh milk should also not contain any residues. There is no permissible residue standard. Depending on the harm to human health, if manufacturers cannot clearly demonstrate the source, they may face fines ranging from NT$60,000 to NT$15 million under the *Food Sanitation Management Act*. Otherwise, the COA will penalize the source dairy farmers.
Source: http:/ / tw. news. yahoo. com/ 7% E……9% B3% E5% 93% 81- 090348197. html