Recently, Abbott 1 stage milk powder was fined about 9.09 million yuan for detecting vanillin, which aroused consumer concern. According to the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System, in December 2020, the State Administration for Market Regulation detected a very small amount of vanillin in the sampling of a single batch of Abbott infant formula from 0 to 6 months old, and the measured value of the vanillin project was 171.6 μg/kg.
Abbott Trading (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. was "confiscated by the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Market Supervision for the production and operation of food and food additives contaminated by packaging materials, containers, means of transport, etc., confiscating more than 3 million yuan of illegal gains, and fining about 9.09 million yuan". Why does vanillin run into milk powder? What is the impact of 0-6 months of age if they drink milk powder containing vanillin?
What is vanillin?
A cooking spice with a milky flavor
Vanillin is a widely used flavouring that is an aromatic organic compound that occurs naturally in vanilla beans. People use the pod as a cooking spice, and there are written records for thousands of years. Due to the low content of natural vanillin extracted from vanilla beans, the price is very expensive. In order to meet the market demand, in the 19th century, vanillin, which was synthesized from o-methoxyphenol and the like, was synthesized and had exactly the same structure as the natural structure.
Li Zhiling, deputy pharmacist and pediatrician of Shanghai Children's Hospital, introduced that vanilla has a milk flavor, edible, and is often used for foods or supplies that need a strong fragrance, such as cakes, cold drinks, candy, soap, perfume, etc. Vanilla-flavored ice cream is a typical example.
△ Vanillin figure from the network
Can I use infant formulas from 0 to 6 months?
Can't, or get infected with habits such as partial eating and picky eating
According to the "National Standard for Food Safety and Standard for the Use of Food Additives", vanillin, ethyl vanillin and vanillin bean extract can be used in formula foods for larger infants and young children, but there are regulations on the maximum amount of vanillin, which is up to 5mg/100mL; vanillin can also be used in infant cereal supplementary foods, with a maximum use of 7mg/100g. However, the standard clearly states that infant formulas that cover the scope of use from 0 to 6 months shall not add any cooking spices.
Why can others eat it, but infants and young children aged 0 to 6 months cannot eat it? Li Zhiling said that eating milk powder with vanillin and then eating breast milk or milk powder without adding spices is equivalent to responding to the phrase "from luxury to frugality" for infants aged 0 to 6 months. For a long time and eating more, small babies may be more susceptible to bad eating habits such as partial eating, picky eating, and anorexia, making the intake of nutrients incomplete.
Why does vanillin run into 1 stage of milk powder?
There were residues in the production pipelines of the factories involved, causing pollution
The reason for the unqualified vanillin of the batch involved was that abbott Ireland's factory (Abbott Ireland) did not thoroughly clean the production pipeline when the production line changed varieties, resulting in the residual vanillin contained in the previous product in the production pipeline, resulting in the contamination of the vanillin component of the batch involved.
According to the relevant administrative penalty decision published, on April 1, 2021, the Chinese Society of Food Science and Technology issued the "Expert Argument Opinion on issues related to the detection of vanillin in infant formula milk powder", which is estimated according to the assessment method of the World Health Organization (WHO), and the probability of risks such as food safety caused by the amount of vanillin detected in the batch of products involved is extremely low. The parties concerned did not receive complaints from consumers reflecting adverse reactions to the above batch of products.
As a parent, if the baby has already eaten the milk powder with vanillin, what will be the impact of the dose of 171.6 μg/kg?
Li Zhiling said that according to relevant regulations, infant formula food from 0 to 6 months old must not add any food spices. "As long as there is, it is a violation." For infants aged 0 to 6 months, how much vanillin consumption will make them addictive? There are currently no studies confirming the existence of a bounded amount of addiction. ”
Source: Voice of China, Central Radio and Television Corporation