Excessive levels of a cancer-causing toxin were found in milk produced in Sichuan in October by dairy giant Mengniu, the mainland's product quality watchdog said at the weekend.
The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine announced on Saturday that pure milk produced by a Mengniu subsidiary in Meishan on October 18 contained as much as 1.4 times the national standard for aflatoxin M1. Milk produced by another firm, Changfu in Fujian, also had excessive levels of the toxin in the same inspection round.
Aflatoxin, classified as carcinogenic to humans by the World Health Organisation because of its ability to damage the liver, thrives in warm and wet environments and cannot be killed by pasteurisation, the process of partial sterilisation the dairy industry uses to make milk safe to drink.
Industry experts said the toxin mostly likely came from mouldy feed and could be detected in milk within 24 hours of being consumed.
Mengniu spokesman Lu Jianjun said the batch was caught at the factory before reaching the market and was destroyed.
Lu said the company traced the problem to dairy farms that improperly stored feed in damp weather.
