Beware of foreign milk of unknown origin

(Baonghean) -Milk of unknown origin, poor quality milk and even fake milk are appearing quite commonly on the market. Using these products has many potential risks of harm to babies.

Should we use "hand-carried goods"?

In most stores, consumers can easily ask to buy "hand-carried" powdered milk boxes and the store owner introduces them as genuine products purchased from abroad, so they do not have Vietnamese labels. Although they are tax-evading products, "hand-carried" milk is still openly sold on websites. Due to the foreign-oriented mentality and seeing the words in foreign languages, although they cannot read or understand, and do not know the ingredients of the products, but seeing the beautiful design, many people still believe that "hand-carried" goods are "genuine" goods.

Taking advantage of that mentality, many domestic and foreign counterfeiting establishments have produced “fake” products labeled with famous brands to market to deceive consumers under the guise of “hand-carried goods” for profit. Mr. Nguyen Van Huy - a truck driver specializing in the route Ho Chi Minh City - Lang Son said: “There are many products labeled as powdered milk of famous milk brands in the US and Europe but are “hand-carried” from China”.

Obviously, using “hand-carried goods” has many potential risks, because there is no document certifying the origin and no agency or organization inspects the quality. In addition to the risk of buying fake goods, counterfeit goods, “hand-carried” milk products, because they are not preserved and transported according to the correct procedures for food products, the quality can be affected. If you buy fake goods, poor quality counterfeit goods, it can cause unpredictable consequences for children. In the case that “hand-carried goods” are truly genuine “genuine” goods, the buyer may still face the risk of buying milk products produced for other markets and therefore not suitable for Vietnamese people to use.

Unlike milk officially imported through distributors, "hand-carried" milk has no legal entity responsible in Vietnam in any case, so when any problem occurs, neither the seller nor the buyer knows where to go to get compensation for damages.

Baby Nguyen Ha Van, 10 months old - daughter of Vo Thi Thuy
In Le Loi ward, Vinh city, no foreign milk is used.

Foreign milk origin must still be carefully considered.

The recent case of Danlait “Goat Milk” being discovered to not have enough protein according to new standards is a lesson for fathers and mothers to be careful when choosing milk products for their children.

In fact, the fake Danlait goat milk product, before being officially imported by Manh Cam Company, had been present in Vietnam for a long time in the form of "hand-carried goods". Danlait is only a food supplement, but when sold in the Vietnamese market, it is advertised as goat milk. The selling price of this product according to the import documents of Manh Cam Company is only 3 Euro/box (equivalent to about 81,000 VND/box), but the retail price on the market is up to 415,000 VND/box. Obviously, those who have used Danlait "Goat milk" for a long time have not only had a large amount of money stolen from their pockets, but also had their children's nutrition and development affected because this "milk" does not have enough protein to meet the baby's development needs.

When the Danlait "fake goat milk" case was exposed by public opinion and the press, on a social networking forum, a person with the nickname tichuot2005 was indignant: "Many times the press and major milk companies in Vietnam have warned about the quality of imported milk: origin, buying fake milk, counterfeit milk, the expiration date has been erased, or the nutritional ingredients are not suitable for Vietnamese children... Yet many fathers and mothers, for some reason, still believe the sellers, it is also due to the foreign-loving mentality." Another person with the nickname thuydang wrote: "Why do you want to give your children foreign milk and then sit there and be angry? Just give your children high-quality, cheap Vietnamese products, exported to many countries around the world. If you don't support domestic products, how can the country's economy develop?" Another member shared: “Because of the foreign-oriented mentality of mothers. I raised 3 children using only domestic milk products, and all of them grew well.” Many people have asked the question: With the current flood of foreign milk, besides Danlait, how many other products that do not have enough protein according to standards have not been discovered?

Be smart when choosing milk for your baby

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh, an employee at a store on Nguyen Thai Hoc Street - Vinh City said: "Although foreign milk powder is twice, even three or four times more expensive than domestic milk, most customers still prefer to buy foreign milk. The discount for agents of foreign milk companies is also higher, so we sell foreign milk with more profit." According to Ms. Thanh, most consumers believe that "you get what you pay for", the more expensive the milk, the better, but they do not know which type of milk is suitable for their children's physical condition to get the best results.

Ms. Vo Thi Thuy (Le Loi ward - Vinh city) shared: “I just gave birth to my first daughter 10 months ago. When she was born, she weighed 3.2 kg. Friends who came to visit gave her many expensive foreign milks. I had little milk so I had to give her powdered milk, but after more than 2 months, I still saw that she was slow to grow, had abnormal digestion and had jaundice. When I went to the Children's Hospital, the doctor advised me to only give my baby one suitable type of milk, not many different types of milk at the same time. I learned about the improved Dielac Alpha product, researched and produced by Vinamilk in collaboration with the National Institute of Nutrition according to a specific formula for Vietnamese children, so I bought it for my baby to try for a while and found that she developed very well, her body weight increased rapidly, her digestion was stable and she slept well. Since then, I have only given my baby this type of milk and now my baby is 10 months old, weighs 11.8 kg, is 0.76 m tall, and is very dynamic and intelligent".

Dr. Nguyen Huu Toan - former Head of Nutrition Department, Cho Ray Hospital, City. Ho Chi Minh gave advice: “When choosing milk for their children, parents should carefully research product information to make the right choice. First of all, it must have a clear origin and information, secondly, they must choose a product that is suitable for the baby's physical condition and nutritional needs. In fact, powdered milk for children in each market often has a different formula, for example, in Europe, the climate is cold, so manufacturers must have a different formula for making milk than in Africa and the Middle East, which has a hot climate. Vietnam is a tropical region, the climate and temperature are different from Europe, so the nutritional regimen for children must be different, which requires powdered milk for children to also have its own suitable formula. Many people are so careful that they ask acquaintances in France or the US to buy milk and send it back for their children to use, but that is not necessarily good, because those products may not be suitable for Vietnamese children. Currently, many mothers choose to let their children use domestically produced products, I think that is a Smart choice. Because many domestic milk products today are invested in modern production technology, the quality is equivalent to foreign milk but the price is much cheaper. Moreover, domestic milk products have been researched to come up with a formula suitable for Vietnamese people, and have been inspected by the authorities, so fathers and mothers can rest assured.

Article and photos: Hoang Hao