A milk powder produced by the international food company Nestle
was found to contain too much iodine, according to a survey result
released on Wednesday by Zhejiang
Administration of Industry and Commerce.
The "Jin Pai Growing 3-Milk Powder," produced by the
Heilongjiang-based Shuang Cheng Nestle Co Ltd, failed to meet
national iodine content standards.
According to state standards, every 100 grams of milk powder for
infants and young children should contain 30-150 micrograms of
iodine, according to State standards.
"This is the first time we have found milk powder containing
excessive amounts of iodine in recent years," said Bian Yuyang, an
official with the Zhejiang Administration of Industry and
Commerce.
Bian said the iodine content of the Nestle milk powder was
slightly higher than acceptable standards.
The milk powder sells well in big supermarkets in Zhejiang
Province, said Bian.
Nestle has ordered a test of its products and raw materials to
find out why their product failed the test, according to a
statement released Thursday by Nestle.
The statement said the situation was caused by fluctuations of
iodine contained in fresh milk, the main ingredient of the
product.
"We always try our best to ensure Nestle products' high quality
and safety," said the statement.
The statement also said that the milk powder was still safe and
their new test results indicated the iodine content matched
International Food Standards for infants and children.
However, experts said children could develop goiter, a condition
caused by either a deficiency or an excess in iodine.
"Consumers have no need to panic because whether the milk powder
will cause goiter or not depends on the total amount absorbed
daily," said Ding Yuting, a food professor from the Food Research
Institute under the Zhejiang University of
Technology.
If children develop goiter after consuming the milk powder, they
should stop taking it, Ding said.
Although this might set people's minds at rest, it does not mean
we want poor-quality products on the market, Ding added.
The milk powder has already been pulled from supermarket shelves
across the province, said officials from the Provincial
Administration of Industry and Commerce.
(China Daily May 27, 2005)