China to Update National Milk Standards

Raw milk may be graded based on 3 levels which will be indicated on the package. China will also introduce new regulatory mechanisms designed to curtail and control the use of reconstituted milk by introducing new limitations on the surrogate markers furosine and lactulose in pasteurized and UHT milk.

On Feb. 20, 2018, related organizations subordinated to MoA released the first discussions on proposed revisions to the national food safety standard for raw milk, pasteurized milk, sterilized milk and identification of reconstituted milk. Apart from the adjustments of some physicochemical indexes, the discussion drafts proposed to grade raw milk and standardize the use of reconstituted milk.

1. Classification of raw milk

Corresponding physicochemical indexes are designed to grade raw milk into premium, good and qualified levels. For example, the protein contents for raw milk of those 3 levels are 3.2 g/100g (premium), 3.0 g/100g (good), and 2.8 g/100g (qualified) respectively. Generally speaking, indexes are much stricter compared with current standard. Total plate count of raw milk decreased from 2*10⁶ CFU/g(mL) to 1*10⁶ CFU/g(mL). Besides, limitation on somatic cell count is newly introduced.

Limit Level of Microorganism and Somatic Cell

Item	Requirements			Determination method
Item	Premium	Good	qualified	Determination method
Total plate count /[CFU/g(mL)] ≤	1×10⁵	5×10⁵	1×10⁶	GB 4789.2
somatic cell /(pcs/mL) ≤	4×10⁵	7.5×10⁵	1×10⁶	NY/T 800

2. Determination of reconstituted milk

Limit levels of Furosine and Lactulose are newly included in GB standards for pasteurized and UHT milk. Those 2 essential indicators can identify whether reconstituted milk has been used. Enterprises are mandatorily required to comply with related requirements, and this may lead to more rational use of reconstituted milk in dairy industry. In order to standardize the determination of reconstituted milk, GB standard Identification of Reconstituted Milk in Pasteurized and UHT Milk is introduced to further standardize the determination of reconstituted milk.

3. Package and label

The revision stipulates that manufacturers can indicate the raw milk level and processing technique on the package of pasteurized milk and sterilized milk.