Ministry of Health Scraps Rule Allowing Limited Melamine in Dairy Products

Beijing News, April 23 report: The Ministry of Health yesterday published 66 new national dairy safety standards. In its interpretation, the Ministry of Health said that melamine is already included on the list of non-edible substances, and that the new national dairy safety standards no longer set out melamine-related provisions.

The new national dairy safety standards include 15 dairy product standards, 2 production practice standards and 49 testing method standards. The Ministry of Health said the new national dairy safety standards have basically resolved problems in the current dairy standards such as contradictions, duplication, overlap and unscientific setting of indicators.

For example, there are 4 standards for infant food this time, whereas there were 11 related standards in the past. The Ministry of Health explained that although the number of standards has been reduced, they basically cover all types of infant food. “In addition to revising pollutant and microbiological indicators, nutrient requirements have also been adjusted according to our country's actual conditions.”

In the new national standards, will no longer setting melamine-related provisions lead dairy companies to add melamine at will? The Ministry of Health said that in the 2008 special campaign against “illegal addition of non-edible substances,” four batches of a “blacklist” were published. These included melamine and its testing methods. Therefore, melamine-related provisions are no longer set.