The producer of Vivinal GOS milk in Vietnam on Wednesday announced it was withdrawing the product suspected of causing allergic reactions among children since two weeks ago.

The company, formerly known as Dutch Lady Vietnam, said the revocation was only aimed at reassuring consumers because tests and studies at the TNO laboratory authorized by the World Health Organization have found no relation between the milk and the allergies.

Supermarket chains in Ho Chi Minh City including Big C, Co.opMart, Maximart and Citimart have removed the product, which made its debut in Vietnam late last month, from their shelves after the company announced it would halt its production on Monday.

Duong Thi Quynh Trang, director of Public Relations at Big C, was quoted by Lao Dong newspaper Wednesday as saying the supermarket was waiting for an official conclusion from concerned agencies before deciding whether or not to put the product back on the shelves.

Customers can also return the milk to the stores if the package has not been damaged, the newswire Vnexpress said Wednesday.

FrieslandCampina said it always puts quality and safety first and remains committed to providing high quality nutrition products.

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 the Vivinal GOS milk. Hanoi has reported two similar cases so far.

The Binh Duong Province-based milk producer is cooperating with the Health Ministry to research cooking allergies, particularly allergy to milk.

Milk containing galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) has been used in more than 50 countries for 10 years now.

Source: Thanh Nien, Agencies