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 tranalysis.com/Services/Index#item2?KeyWordID=a79ce48b5d184549a8fa7166008f3ad3&PublisherID=b3fac7dd-9156-424c-9843-193631ebb67b' target='_blank'>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.