Testing iodine content of two types of milk imported from Japan

On August 11, the Department of Food Safety and Hygiene (DFS, Ministry of Health) said that it is requesting the National Institute for Food Safety and Hygiene Control to take samples of two milk products, Wakodo 850g and Morinaga 850g (imported from Japan), to test for iodine content.

The incident is related to an announcement by the Hong Kong Center for Food Safety, which said that two types of Japanese milk for infants aged 0 to 9 months have lower iodine content than the standards of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex Alimentarius) and are being recalled in Hong Kong.

After the above information, the Food Safety Department has reviewed the import and circulation of the above milk products in Vietnam.Maleand request the importing company to report and explain.

According to the Food Safety Department, Wakodo Hai Hai formula food products for children aged 0-12 months have been granted a Product Standards Certificate by the Department, and the National Institute for Food Safety and Hygiene Control has issued a certificate of meeting import requirements for each batch of goods before circulation. The above products are manufactured based on the regulations of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan. Hoang Duong Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., the importer of Wakodo Hai Hai milk, said that currently, Wakodo does not officially export any milk products to the Hong Kong market. Therefore, the results of the Wakodo Hai Hai milk samples that Hong Kong used for testing and drawing conclusions are not official.

As for Morinaga brand nutritional milk powder for children, the Department only issues Product Standard Certificates for products for children aged 9-36 months. Talking about the two Japanese Morinaga milk products currently available in Vietnamese schools, a representative of Le May Trading and Service Company Limited, the importer of Morinaga milk, said: Morinaga milk products from Japan distributed by Le May Company are fortified with some ingredients such as iron, zinc, iodine... to suit the needs of Vietnamese children. Currently on the Vietnamese marketMaleCurrently selling both Morinaga milk product lines, which are the domestic Japanese Morinaga milk line and the Morinaga milk line imported and distributed by Le May Company.

Le May Company said that the Japanese milk company Morinaga has announced: "Japan does not have standards for iodine content and does not allow iodine supplementation in powdered milk for children consumed in Japan. The products that the competent authorities of Hong Kong and China inspect are products manufactured for the Japanese market, in full compliance with regulations and laws in Japan. When producing Morinaga milk powder for distribution in foreign markets, these products fully comply with the recommendations of FAO/WHO Codex and the regulations of the country consuming the product. Currently, Morinaga Group does not distribute domestic Morinaga milk products in the Vietnamese market.Male, only distributes Morinaga milk for export to the Vietnamese market.Male.

The representative of Le May Company said that in the product standard certificate for 2 Morinaga milk products of Le Minh Company issued by the Department of Food Safety and Hygiene - Ministry of Health, it is clearly stated that the iodine content in Morinaga Hagukumi milk for children from 0 to 6 months old is 13 micrograms/100kcal (while the WHO recommendation is the minimum iodine content is 10 micrograms/100kcal). The iodine content in Morinaga Chilimil milk for children from 6 to 36 months old is 13 micrograms/100kcal (the WHO recommendation is 5 micrograms/100kcal).

According to the Food Safety Department, VietnamMaleThere are no mandatory regulations on iodine supplementation in products for young children. Therefore, the Department is researching and developing technical regulations on infant formula foods in accordance with Codex standards and suitable for the conditions of Vietnam.Male.

According to VietQ-M