Goat milk powder ingredients will be exposed, new regulations force the industry to become more transparent

After the strictest-ever new milk powder policy - the infant formula milk powder registration system - was implemented in October this year, the State Food and Drug Administration recently published supporting detailed rules, imposing strict regulations on the labeling and identification of formula milk powder, especially for formula goat milk powder, which has risen rapidly in recent years. From now on, if "cow milk" is mixed in again, there will be no way to keep it hidden. Reporters recently learned through investigation that many companies have begun embarking on the path of "seeking goats", successively positioning themselves in the goat whey powder resource market. Experts say the new policy will force 150 formula goat milk powder brands out of the market, and the goat milk powder market will become standardized.

□New regulations

Goat milk powder mixed with cow whey must be clearly labeled

As early as June 8 this year, the "Measures for the Registration and Administration of Infant Formula Milk Powder Product Formulas" issued by the State Food and Drug Administration clearly stipulated: if the product name contains an animal source, the animal source of the raw milk, milk powder, whey (protein) powder and other dairy raw materials used must be truthfully indicated in the ingredient list according to the product formula. When the dairy raw materials used have two or more animal sources, the proportion of raw materials from each animal source shall be indicated.

Not long ago, the State Food and Drug Administration formulated and issued the "Items and Requirements for Infant Formula Milk Powder Product Formula Registration Application Materials (Trial)" and the "Key Points and Judgment Principles for On-site Verification of Infant Formula Milk Powder Product Formula Registration (Trial)", setting detailed rules for infant formula milk powder product formula registration. This means that during the transition period before January 2018, companies can begin the related work of formula registration accordingly.

This time, in the items and requirements for formula registration application materials published by the State Food and Drug Administration, the above provisions on formula milk powder are once again clearly stated. This means that the long-controversial phenomenon of goat milk powder being mixed with cow whey powder without labeling will be regulated from now on.

□Market

There are more than 200 goat milk powder brands

Searching for "goat milk powder" on e-commerce platforms such as Taobao reveals many products named after goat milk powder, including both Chinese and foreign brands. "China's goat milk powder is mostly produced in Shaanxi," said dairy expert Wang Dingmian. At present, 17 dairy companies have obtained the qualification to produce goat milk infant formula, with more than 200 brands. Compared with cow milk infant formula, goat milk powder has many advantages. For example, some nutritional components of goat milk are superior to cow milk, it is relatively close to breast milk, and its casein content is lower, making it easy to digest and absorb. In addition, about 10%-15% of infants are unsuitable for drinking cow milk powder due to allergies; if switched to goat milk powder, they are fine, and the allergy rate is lower. Because of this, goat milk powder has developed very well in recent years.

However, the state has no standard specifically for infant formula goat milk powder, and companies all produce and process according to the existing infant formula cow milk powder standard. With the expansion of the market, the use of cow whey powder in goat milk powder has been criticized by many people in the industry. It is understood that in a can of formula milk powder, the main ingredients, in addition to raw milk (or milk powder), include a larger proportion of whey powder, and these two account for 80%-90% of a can of milk powder. At present, the vast majority of infant formula goat milk powder sold on the market uses large amounts of cow whey powder, yet no labeling is done on the packaging.

This phenomenon has always existed in the industry. "It is mainly driven by profit," an industry insider told reporters. Goat milk itself has low output, the price of goat whey powder is several times higher than that of cow whey powder, and the selling price of goat milk powder is also much higher than that of cow milk powder. If lower-cost cow whey is used, but the selling price is far higher than ordinary formula cow milk powder, the profit margin is even greater.

The number of genuine goat milk powder brands is extremely small

Reporters have recently conducted consecutive market investigations and found that among infant formula goat milk powders, some do use genuine goat whey powder, but the number is extremely small.

On Tmall, reporters searched and checked many infant formula goat milk powder products. Brands that clearly indicate on the outer packaging that they use "goat whey powder" include Synutra Super, Ausnutria's Kabrita, New Zealand original imported Beinengxi, New Zealand imported Blue River sheep milk powder, France's Babybio, Australia's ViPlus, Shaanxi's Zhiguan, and Xi'an Yinqiao Dairy's Aibaorui, among others.

Reporters found that Synutra Super infant formula goat milk powder particularly emphasizes that it has always used genuine goat milk powder and goat whey powder. Ausnutria's Kabrita sales page even directly reminds consumers, "Please pay attention to the ingredient list. If it is goat milk powder containing demineralized whey powder (cow whey powder), it may not be 100% goat whey protein."

Reporters noted that all infant formula goat milk powders whose labels indicate the use of "goat whey powder" have this point particularly emphasized by the shops when introducing the product. However, infant formula goat milk powders whose labels only say "whey powder" do not disclose whether the whey powder comes from "cow" or "goat".

"At present, there are probably only about 10 infant formula goat milk powder brands on the market that truly use goat whey powder as a raw material," Wang Dingmian told reporters.

□Interpretation

Consumers have the right to know the ingredients of milk powder

Regarding the requirement for goat milk powder to label its true ingredients, many companies seem rather unwilling. A WeChat account named Xi'an Mengyang Biotechnology Co., Ltd. publicly wrote in an article: "In recent years, some goat milk powder companies, for their own marketing purposes, have wildly boasted that the whey powder used in their infant formula goat milk powder is goat whey powder, thereby suppressing other domestic goat milk powder peers. This is actually just a marketing tactic." "It is puzzling that some people and media reporters join in the clamor, demanding that companies indicate on the packaging of infant formula goat milk powder whether goat whey powder or cow whey powder is used. One wonders what consideration this is based on?" The company even published an article defending itself, saying: "Adding cow whey powder to goat milk powder - this is another 'dark history' of goat milk powder being slandered."

According to the above statement, is it not a fact that cow whey powder is added to goat milk powder? A recording obtained by reporters shows that a consumer recently consulted Shaanxi Hongxing Meiling, which is listed on the New Third Board and is known as the first listed company for goat milk powder, and a company staff member confirmed that Hongxing Meiling infant formula goat milk powder uses cow whey powder.

Reporters found through business registration information inquiries that Xi'an Mengyang Biotechnology Co., Ltd.'s business scope includes wholesale and retail of infant formula milk powder.

In fact, regarding the issue that the source of whey powder in goat milk powder should be clearly labeled, many industry insiders believe that the main purpose is still to let consumers consume with clarity and to return consumers' right to know. After all, if cow whey is used in goat milk powder, it definitely adds an allergen. After labeling, parents of babies allergic to cow milk can consume with clarity when purchasing. Moreover, the cost of goat milk powder with added cow whey is greatly reduced, yet it is sold at a high price using goat milk as a gimmick, which also carries a suspicion of unfair competition.

□Countermeasures

Companies are transforming one after another to "find goats"

Although a few companies still have resistance to the new policy provisions, once rules are established they cannot be broken. "In fact, goat milk has become a new highlight in the current market, and the market prospects are optimistic and favored," Wang Dingmian said. At a dairy summit in the first half of this year, a foreign expert said that French people have also become interested in goat milk powder in the past year or two, and 25% of children who originally drank cow milk powder have switched to goat milk powder, showing that the market prospects are bright worldwide.

Coinciding with the market reshuffle brought by the new national policy, reporters learned from within the industry that many companies are making efforts in raw materials and the pure goat milk powder market, and some companies are also seeking a path of transformation.

Previously, some goat milk powder companies said the reason for using cow whey powder was that goat whey powder was very hard to find even on the international market. In fact, as a byproduct of cheese, goat whey powder, which had long relied on imports, is now also produced domestically. Reporters learned from the industry that Honghui Dairy, founded in 2009 in Jianshui County, Honghe Prefecture, Yunnan, has invested 450 million yuan to build a farm with 40,000 dairy goats and a goat milk powder processing plant. However, the company's person in charge said in an interview with reporters that according to the new national policy, if all domestic infant formula goat milk powder used goat whey powder, market demand should be more than 20,000 tons, while Honghui's annual production capacity of 3,000 tons is far from meeting market demand.