Milk powder brands keep mum on ingredients

Labeling laws are toothless: Regulatory bodies lack machinery to check ingredients.

In a backdrop where a controversy looms large over the US dairy industry with regard to genetically engineered growth hormones contained in milk powder , the Sri Lankan milk powder industry lacks a mechanism to ascertain the ingredients and components of the milk powder brands available in the local market.

In a survey done last week, The Nation found that most milk powder manufacturers do not disclose or display the ingredients contained in their products.

While some contained the substances, the sources of nutrients were also not specified. The officials from various milk powder companies had a standard response to the questions raised by The Nation. All of them said the products went through a number of quality checks before it was put into the market. However, none of the officials could provide a satisfactory explanation on the substances included while producing powdered milk. 

Officials at Nestle Lanka PLC told The Nation that the quality of powdered milk products were checked and approved by authorities of the respective countries from where the items are manufactured.

However, he pointed out that most of its milk products are manufactured using locally obtained milk. “Over 50% of the products are from locally produced milk. Last year, our production from locally obtained milk increased by 20%,” an official said.

Meanwhile, a senior research officer at Maliban Milk Products (Pvt) Ltd said the powdered milk products are certified and cleared by authorities in Australia, from where the company imports powdered milk. “The products go through a series of checks where they are manufactured. Our suppliers in Australia make sure that the products conform to the requirements before they are sent,” the official said.

In addition, the official added that the products are inspected by the likes of the Sri Lanka Standards Institution (SLSI) and Medical Research Institute (MRI) once the items are brought into the country. But, The Nation reliably learns that both the SLSI and MRI lack robust machinery or mechanism to ascertain ingredients and components of milkpowder.

Assistant Manager, Quality Assurance at Milco (Pvt) Limited, Nilani Alwis, said the only ingredient in their Highland milk powder packets was ‘milk’!

“There’s nothing else. We don’t add chemicals or preservatives. We use spray drying method (a method of producing dry powder from a liquid by rapidly drying with a hot gas)” she said. She added their products were ‘100% local’ and were subject to stringent quality tests. Hence, the public need not have any concerns, she stressed.

Meanwhile, Amal Wageesha, Senior Lecturer in Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine (SAITM) said that ‘Companies are bound by law to display their ingredients, even if only one ingredient such as full cream milk has been used. Most however, do use nutrients in an attempt to increase the quality. At the most, milk powder contains a maximum of 3-4 ingredients, yet manufacturers have a legal obligation to print these clearly’.

‘If the companies need to survive without having legal action taken against them, they need to tell the whole truth and disclose all ingredients,’ he added. However, during the survey, The Nation found that such labeling laws are being murdered in broad daylight by milk powder manufacturers.

Chairman of Pelawatte Dairy Industries (Pvt) Ltd, and Maubima Lanka Foundation, Ariyaseela Wickramanayake claimed that DCD (Dicyandiamide) Chemicals have been found in imported milk powder.  ‘Before that, there was the Melamine scandal in China that killed several children and led to the execution of those responsible following trials,’ he added.  Wickramanayake further claimed that foreign sub-grade milk is dumped in Sri Lanka to the tune of 83, 000 tons (in 2011).

rBGH, the hormone which is at the centre of controversy, is injected into cows to increase milk production. While approved by the FDA, the hormone is banned in Canada and the European Union because of health risks to cows. Consumer advocates also say rBGH increases levels of IGF-1, a hormone that’ is linked to prostate and colon cancer.

By  The Nation      Sunday, 17 March 2013 02:29