Health authorities in Ho Chi Minh City Friday revealed that nearly 40 milk products tested so far had much lower protein contents than their labels indicated.

HCMC Institute of Hygiene and Public Health Friday announced that 37 of the 99 milk samples tested had protein much lower, by up to 30 times, than the content indicated on their labels.

The Institute Director Le Hoang Ninh said it was just an annual inspection of dairy products on the market, but the results have shocked everyone.

Test results showed Vinacali Co.’s 400-gram packets of Intellac powder milk had only 1.32 percent of protein instead of 28 percent as per the label. Other milk products of the company that were similarly lacking include 500-gram packs of Intellac powder milk, 400-gram packs of Supermilk for children and the 500-gram Intellac milk for the malnourished.

Inspectors also found the labels of several products of Bich Co Enterprise in Binh Tan District and Thanh Ngoc Co. in District 11 falsely claimed to contain protein dozens of times higher than actual content.

Earlier, HCMC Health Department suspended operations of Binh Tan District-based Hung Lam Joint Stock Company for not putting enough protein in their milk.

The agency also said on Thursday that four milk makers, Nhu Trang (Tan Binh District), Hoang Khang (Binh Chanh District), Tuan Cuong Phat (Binh Tan District) and Dai Hoa (District 6) were fined VND29 million (US$1,663) for not meeting the protein requirements.

Between September and November of last year, the Vietnam Standards and Consumer Protection Association said it bought 20 random powdered milk samples in the Ho Chi Minh City area and tested the products for protein and melamine at the city’s QUATEST3 center. Results showed four samples had “very little” protein, about 1.2-1.6 percent for 100 grams, and one sample that advertised 24 percent had only 0.5 percent protein.

Head of the association, Ho Tat Thang, said even 10 percent protein was considered “very low” as most powdered milk has between 24 and 36 percent protein.

Dirty tricks

Many experts said some dairy firms had mixed cheap milk materials to package with labels claiming false protein levels to sell at high prices.

They said some firms had substituted other companies’ products for their own to pass quality tests.

“Many companies have used low-quality ingredients to produce milk for huge profits,” said an official from a cooking company, who wished to be anonymous. “Such ingredients have a major percentage of fat, no vitamins and very little protein - less than two percent compared with the standard of between 11 and 15 percent set by the World Health Organization.”

He said the ingredients originated from China and South Korea, with prices of around VND40,000 per kilogram, while the normal price for milk powder was between VND70,000 and VND85,000 per kilogram.

Nguyen Xuan Mai, former head of HCMC Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, said such violations not only affected consumers but could cause malnutrition in children.

Head of the Administration for Food Safety and Hygiene, Nguyen Cong Khan, told Thanh Nien Friday: “Consumers have been ripped off by low quality dairy products. The related authorities will be responsible to deal with them.”

He said the administration had ordered HCMC Health Department to continue inspecting milk products and penalizing offending firms.

Reported by Thanh Tung – Nam Son

A woman buys a can of milk from a shop on Nguyen Thong Street in District 3, Ho Chi Minh City.