China has lowered minimum protein levels in raw milk in an effort to stamp out the use of melamine in the dairy industry. The new rules on protein will remove the reason for adding melamine in the first place. Melamine makes protein levels appear higher than they really are, potentially enabling unscrupulous producers to pass protein tests.
Reuters have said Chinese health officials have therefore decided to lower minimum protein levels for raw milk from 2.95 per cent to 2.8 per cent. Officials said the new standard is more realistic given how the quality of the feed commonly used in China can lead to low protein levels. “The 2.8 percent level is based on a lot of data collected after an investigation by the agriculture ministry and is most suitable for China’s current economic development,” said Wang Zhutian, deputy director of the National Institute of Nutrition and Food Safety at the China Center for Disease Control.