The Spectre of Melamine Returns

Does anybody still remember the melamine event in 2008, which nearly destructed the Chinese dairy industry? At least some people forgot it. On June 9, the haunting of melamine came back again!

Now the spectre of melamine moved from its birthplace Hebei province and hit the provinces of Gansu, Qinghai and Jilin, terrifying the customers here.

It was reported that the contaminated milk powder was produced from the milk powder from Hebei province, where the melamine scandal were frequently heard about two years ago. Then the questions came out was the raw material of this contaminated milk powder from the problematic milk power in 2008? Or was it newly produced?

No matter where the raw material came from, it proved that the related administration and supervision still had the problems which allowed the contaminated milk powder to be produced and sold again.

After the melamine scandal in 2008, the state administrative departments, represented by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, required that all the contaminated milk powder should be destroyed and that the milk powder that has come into the market should be recalled and sent into the burning furnace. In addition, various government departments collaborated to work out an amended act of food quality, in which the clause about the illegal use of melamine in the dairy products was added. Local governments of different places were required to follow this act firmly and try their best to prevent the scandal happening again.

However, the return of melamine this July still let down the central government, consumers and everyone who wants to get the bad memory in 2008 out of his/her mind forever.

Apart from the dissatisfactory supervision of the local governments, the producers of the contaminated milk powder were the ones to be blamed. It was known that adding melamine into the milk powder can make the protein content look higher. Therefore, it can lower the cost of producing milk powder and the price, which could earn the milk powder popularity in the market, especially in the rural area.

Most of the experts said that the return of melamine was a tragedy and needed to be eliminated before it caused worse influence. The related government department has already taken moves to stop more contaminated milk powder from entering into the market and the enterprises producing the milk powder with melamine were severely punished.

However, things are not done yet. No one can guarantee whether the melamine ghost can come back one or two years later. If people want to get rid of these scandals forever, long-term, powerful and effective supervision system is needed. In addition, it is necessary to make the producers know the fact that people’s health and life are much more important than money. It is a long and tough task, but it needs to be done for our own good!