FrieslandCampina Vietnam has stopped the production of its Vivinal GOS milk suspected of sending 12 local children to hospital with allergies.

The company, previously known as Dutch Lady Vietnam, has also committed to taking strict control of the product still in circulation, Hoang Thuy Tien, deputy head of the department, told Tuoi Tre in a recent interview.

According to Tien, they couldn’t ask the producer to suspend all the batches as they are yet to identify which one is related to the allergies suffered by children in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Jan Bles, managing director of FrieslandCampina Vietnam, said at a press briefing last Friday that they’d sent many milk samples to the European TNO Laboratory for testing and results showed Vivinal GOS doesn’t contain common allergens.

In the meantime, HCMC Institute of Hygiene and Public Health is conducting epidemiologic tests on the patients, the official said, adding that more tests are needed before they can conclude if the milk product has caused the allergies.

Since October 13, HCMC-based Children Hospital No.2 has admitted ten children with allergic symptoms like rashes and respiratory difficulties that they developed after consuming Vivinal GOS milk.

This prompted the hospital to propose that the city’s health department conducts an investigation into the product.

Hanoi has reported two similar cases so far.

Source: Tuoi Tre