GmB milk taken off shelves over origin scandal

March 15, 2013 | 15:00

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Milk shops around Ho Chi Minh City Thursday began to pull the infamous GmB goat milk product off shelves following news reports unearthing its dubious origins and the dishonest business of the distributor.

A set of GmB goat milk is seen on display at a dairy store in Ho Chi Minh City March 11, 2013 - Photo: Tuoi Tre

Dai Hung Tinh Co. Ltd., which distributes the milk in the city, has been found to dupe consumers with misleading information about the milk's origin and manufacturer, while also providing false expiry dates.

A GmB dealer in Phu Nhuan District said it has stopped selling the product, as well as removing all of the “US goat milk GmB” ads it posted online.

GmB used to be on sale in some 30 dealers, two major supermarket chains, a beauty care supermarket, and a number of online stores. But most of these vendors have taken the product off shelves.

Dai Hung Tinh Co marketed the product as a “made-in-the-USA product with Dutch origins,” while the company in fact imported milk powder from the Netherlands, and packed it at a facility in District 9.

The distributor has also been found to commit another dishonest act -- manipulating the product’s expiry date.

Specifically, while the batch of milk powder Dai Hung Tinh imported from the Netherlands has an expiry date of March 16, the canned GmB milk available in the market bears labels stating that the product is safe for consumption until 2014.

The HCMC food safety and market watchdog agencies have launched a large-scale check on Dai Hung Tinh and 10 other milk producing facilities in the city, starting Thursday.

“We will review everything and will strictly penalize all dishonest activities such as providing false information all product labels or selling products different from the advertisement,” a food safety official said.

Tuoi Tre News

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