This agonizing melamine milk scandal derived widespread outrage from thousands of concerned parents of young infants. 

In 2008, in China, Sanlu Group was allegedly accused of using a deadly chemical compound called Melamine in their infant formula that resulted in kidney stones and other kidney damage in infants. 

An alarming number of complaints of infant sickness in 2007 pressured the Chinese Food Jurisdiction system to impose an immediate investigation on the allegedly accused companies like the Sanlu group. It concluded that using Melamine in these products was far beyond permissible limits.

The chemical was used to increase the nitrogen content of diluted milk, giving it the appearance of higher protein content to pass quality control testing. Three hundred thousand affected children were identified, among which 54,000 were hospitalized, according to the latest report in January 2009. The deaths of six babies were officially concluded to be related to the contaminated milk.

The issue raised concerns about food safety and political corruption in China and damaged the country’s food export reputation so much that at least 11 countries halted the Dairy supply imports. 

Despite the government taking active measures to improve overall food quality control and investigation, counterfeiting with melamine to secure infant formula has destroyed millions of trust worldwide. The damage to reputation and trust is irreparable for decades to come. 

The responsibility of ensuring safe edibles also remains within us. Food choices should be carefully taken to save lives and protect health. FMCG businesses around the world are adopting new features on their packaging to guard their authenticity. 

As consumers, you have the right to make sure that brands are just as committed to safeguarding you by using trustworthy anti-counterfeit solutions.

Deploy anti-counterfeit technology into your FMCG Supply Chain for better security of your consumers.