Mizzima News

New Delhi - A government warning to people of possible contamination from Chinese milk and milk products has negatively impacted Burmese markets and sown confusion among consumers, say local businessmen.

A domestic dairy company, Diary Queen, in Mandalay, said that in addition to having to prove that its products are free of the chemical melamine, it also has to do extra work in advertising through newspapers.

"We take our raw materials from Poland and other parts of Europe. And all of them are tested and free of chemicals, but we have to re-advertise to convince our customers," an official at the company explained.

The official said they produce baby cereals, condensed milk and other milk related products, all of which are approved by the Food and Drug Authority (FDA) of Burma, yet the company has been forced to do extra work to convince customers in the wake of the Chinese milk scandal.

Burma's military government on Monday said it has destroyed at least 16 tons of Chinese made milk powder that were found to have included the industrial chemical melamine, used in making plastics, and warned people to be aware when consuming milk and milk products.  

Following the announcement, traders and businesses in Mandalay's Zegyo market, the largest market selling a variety of Chinese made goods including milk powder, said there has been a decline in the sale of milk powder.

Ko Chun, a Chinese man who owns a shop in Zegyo market, said, "Though so far there is no official notice to stop selling Chinese milk, sales have been declining. Only a few people come to buy milk powder."

Besides, Ko Chun said, he also has to do extra work explaining to customers the safety of his goods, as there is confusion among customers, with many having ceased to purchase any goods owing to confusion over the safety of the various products.

The FDA, under the Ministry of Health, said it is taking samples of milk powder from companies and markets and is conducting a scan. But it has so far failed to announce which labels are found to be contaminated.

An official at the FDA, when contacted by Mizzima, said he cannot reveal testing results as officials are unauthorized to speak while on tour.

Meanwhile, an official newspaper of the junta, New Light of Myanmar, this week warned traders and businesses to halt the sale of milk until testing is completed. However shops, traders, businesses and companies say they have not received any official notice asking them to stop sales.

Nevertheless, Fuxing Brother, a Chinese owned domestic company dealing in the supply and sale of Chinese made goods including milk powder, said they have temporarily halted the sale of milk powder.

"We have been told not to sell or supply any milk powder, but we don't know the reasons," a salesman at the Fuxing Brother's Mandalay branch office told Mizzima.

But unlike the Fuxing Brothers, another domestic dairy company, Star, which takes its raw materials from New Zealand, said that while they have not halted the sale of milk powder, sales have not been as robust as might be expected.

"We have not halted sales, which are going almost as normal. But we are worried that we might run out of stock as the government has banned imports," a spokesperson for the company in Rangoon told Mizzima.

Star, which produces milk powder in Burma with raw materials supplied from New Zealand, said that with the Ministry of Commerce banning the import of dairy products, it fears that it might soon run out of raw materials to produce milk powder.

Following the news that Chinese companies had exported contaminated milk products to five developing countries including Burma, the Burmese Ministry of Commerce announced the closure of land as well as water borders to the import of milk and milk powder.

Yet despite the ban, milk products are still being sold in markets and authorities have not imposed strict restrictions to stop the sale of milk powder.

An official with the Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC), a civic body that oversees the city's development including the maintenance of markets, said they have not received any order to remove Chinese milk powder from markets across the city.

The health department of the Yangon City Development Committee, empowered with overseeing the safety and cleanliness of foods sold in markets, said they have not received any order from the Ministry of Health to retract or ban the sale of milk powder in markets.

"We have not received any order from the Ministry of Health, and we are not doing anything at the moment on the sale of milk products," confirmed Dr. Aung Than, in-charge of the YCDC's health committee.

But several companies, including New Zealand Company PEP, said they have submitted samples of their products to the FDA for testing. PEP, which deals in producing and supplying dairy products, announced that it welcomes the FDA's testing as it clarifies the question as to which products are safe.

"Our overall business is being negatively impacted by the possibility of contaminated milk products, so we have to take this trouble. After the results are known we will have to take a second step to re-convince our customers," said an official at PEP, adding that sales of dairy products have declined by 40 percent.

Reporting by The The, writing by Mungpi