Newbealer milk protein solid drink formula banned from import as China revises food safety standards 03-22-2021

China recently has announced a plan to revise the safety standard of lactoferrin in the official statute titled National Food Safety Standards: Food Nutrition Enhancer lactoferrin, GB1903.17-2016. Before the announcement of the revision of the safety standard of lactoferrin, there were many violations related to lactoferrin, including the overuse of lactoferrin in food products.


A news report from June, 2020 shows that China customs refused a batch of Newbealer milk protein powder from New Zealand because the containing lactoferrin has exceeded the normal standard. The milk protein formula was produced in Megadairy Limited in New Zealand. The total weight of milk protein formula refused by China customs reached 549 kilograms, and the importer was Beijing Zhaoxu Oriental International Trade Co., Ltd.


Excessive lactoferrin levels lead to ban as extant regulations more actively enforced

In June, 2020, a journalist searched the online marketplace Tmall for the recently banned Newbealer product and found that Newbealer solid milk protein drink formula is still being sold in packs of 60 grams, each costing RMB 568, and furthermore, the product was sold at discounted price of RMB 498 during a special promotion. The label of this product clearly states that each 100 grams of solid protein formula contains 10 grams of lactoferrin, and this fact is the main reason that the product was recently denied entry at customs.


Lactoferrin is a ferrous glycoprotein that is commonly found in mammals’ milk, especially in colostrum. In March, 2012, the national government of China released a document called “China’s National Food Standards: Standards for Nutritional Additives” which registers lactoferrin as a nationally regulated additive and stipulates that lactoferrin shall not exceed a concentration of 100 milligrams per 100 grams in solid protein formulations.


Newbealer producer assures product safety despite recent ban

Production of Newbealer solid milk protein formulation is managed by Guangzhou New Fun Nutrition Technology Co., Ltd, henceforth called “Guangzhou New Fun.” According to the official website of Guangzhou New Fun, the company manages ingredient selection, finished product development, manufacturing and processing, and marketing channels, operating as a single incorporated international company with a subsidiary company in New Zealand. The company currently produces several product lines in New Zealand for import to China, including the Naturalpro Newbealer series, as well as the Inteligent acerola powder series.


Guangzhou New Fun stated to the press that the Newbealer solid milk protein drink formula comes from the plains of the tropical region of New Zealand and uses fresh milk of mature dairy cows as its main ingredient, and furthermore, that the product has received approval from New Zealand’s Risk Management Programmes as well as from the international standards of the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points. Despite these assurances of safety, China’s customs have found the Newbealer drink formula to be in violation of several clearly stated food safety regulations that date back to 2012 and therefore has opted to prohibit the import of this product to China.

 

For more information, please check our resources on China’s dairy products market.

Subscribe to our Newsletter



Next Press