I am a milk collector in one of the big player in milk industry.It is nothing new but a matter of time to be revealed. This is just a start.Some may said it is immoral for a resigned employee to talk bad on the company. However, it is immoral if I don’t tell the truth.
After leaving the job, I never drink a single drop of milk.
The process: milk was collected based on quality in terms of pH, protein, dry solid. Private collector will collect from farmers and send the milk in tank to the factory. Factory will collects ample and pay according to the quality. Where is the problem?
To earn more, water is added. When the milk from one of the farmers spoilt the quality of the whole tank, the milk collector will not throw the whole tank.If I were said farmer is the root cause, I would be too naïve. Milk collectors and factory knew about it.
We never stop collecting milk. We know that we have to maximize the value/profit out of the milk. Milk is stored separately. Milk with best quality will be sent for yogurt making, followed by pure milk and high calcium milk. Low quality milk will be used for “peanut milk” and breakfast milk. As for the milk that turns sour, it will be used to make acidic milk drink. This is how the company earns money. The cost of the milk is lower than the cost of the box. How about the milk which is very smelly? Simple, it was used to make ice-cream (as it will smell the best). How about the smelly and sticky milk? It is made into industry milk powder, which has its other purpose (milk powder without packing).
We have the world largest and best developed volumetric storage system which was hailed by the media. However, have you ever thought that such product is meant to sell quickly rather than for storing? What is the use of having such a big warehouse? Acidic milk will taste better the longer it was stored. How about the expiry date? Simple! Put a date which is one month later. I am telling you, the milk in your hand is already 1 week expired. You drank it and have no problem. This is because the milk being sold is processed using UHT (ultra high temperature) to kill the germs. There is no nutrient value after such UHT process. This is what the slogan by someone in China: Don’t bother what milk you drink, it is milk.
There is an advertisement stating that a Chinese company is the world largest UHT producer. This is not because the technology is good and better than that of developed countries. The reason is that the developed countries no longer producing such milk product.
Some say let drink the high end milk. The advertisement mentioned that quality lifestyle should drink that kind of milk. The milk is expensive. Expensive is good. It is high in protein. Even Australian respect us.
I don’t believe any cow can produce such milk with such a high level.
Once this was mentioned, specialist will provide a set of number to refute the statement and guide everyone.Oh yes, my mouth is not as big and I am not collecting as much money as they did.
On the current Sanlu milk powder case, as a person who knows the truth and chemistry, I would like to provide my view:
1. Be it media, factory, national quality control, or to cheat everyone, adding melamine into the milk directly is not possible. The price of melamine is not low. Farmer will count its cost and avoid trouble. However, why they keep saying that someone add melamine? This is because they want to cover a greater problem, which is adding in an even more toxic material which is urea. Urea is a cheap fertilizer and economic additives.
Why adding urea? As a milk collector, testing of protein is based on nitrogen content. Urea is a common nitrogen-based fertilizer. It has a unique structure with around 2 Nitrogen atom and something else which I can’t remember. Adding in the urea will increase the nitrogen content and increase the price.
How come urea will transform into melamine? It is simple. During the milk making process, fresh milk was kept in high temperature. It was then being sprayed to form milk powder. At high temperature, urea will form melamine. The toxic milk powder is formed.
Lastly, how do I know the truth? A few years ago which I can’t remember it is 2001 or 2002, I investigated a case where sub-quality milk was used as high quality milk. During the investigation, I learnt that they added urea, oil and large amount of water (potable water or pond water), and used a mixer to mix. High protein milk was then produced. The criminal said that it was not their invention but it is a common practice. We went to “天友” to understand. Indeed, during the collection, they can’t afford the effort and money to conduct analysis due to the high number of collection points and effective testing system. On such a mixing by farmer, the collector choose to keep quiet. Thus, Sanlu case will definitely surface.
