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Highland, General milk recalled

Gaps on the shelves of a Taipei supermarket are visible yesterday after two brands of fresh milk from Taiwan’s leading food manufacturer, AGV Products Corp, were recalled following a report that the products were contaminated. PHOTO: WANG YU-CHUN, TAIPEI TIMES

Taiwan’s leading food manufacturer, AGV Products Corp (愛之味), yesterday recalled two brands of fresh milk that it markets in the wake of a report that the products were contaminated by milk from diseased cows.

The two brands are Highland (高原) and General (將軍), both of which are processed by an AGV-contracted dairy operated by the Miaoli County Farmers’ Association (苗栗縣農會).

The Chinese-language Apple Daily reported yesterday that one of the plant’s suppliers in Yunlin County had provided “diseased milk” that was collected from neighboring dairy farms.

The term “diseased milk”refers to milk produced by cows during and immediately after receiving medication. It is against the law to process such milk for human consumption.

The report said the suspect milk, which was bought at a low price of approximately NT$8 per kilogram, was sold to the dairy at NT$18 per kilogram, which would have made the supplier NT$1 million per month.

AGV said in a statement that it would investigate the extent of the dairy’s responsibility. It said that under the terms of its contract, the dairy was responsible for ensuring the quality of the ingredients used in production.

Officials at the Miaoli County Farmers’ Association dismissed the Apple Daily report, labeling it “totally false.”

The officials said milk was required to undergo drug residue screening tests upon delivery to the dairy, which includes tests for tetracycline, penicillin, sulfonamides and chloramphenicol.

Any milk found with traces of these antibiotics is immediately rejected, they said.

The Yunlin District Prosecutors Office raided the dairy farm that allegedly sold the suspect milk yesterday, seizing 4,000kg of milk for testing.

Miaoli County health and agricultural authorities also visited the dairy to collect samples for testing.

Chen Chi-ying (陳其瑩), chief of the county’s Animal Health Inspection and Quarantine Institute, said there were 25 dairy farms with a combined total of 2,000 cows in the county.

Of 175 milk samples tested by the institute last year, none were found to contain traces of antibiotics, Chen said.
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