Recently, Hangzhou Weiquan Biotechnology Food Co., Ltd.'s product, Ober 1st-stage formula, was detected with ethyl vanillin that should not be added by the state. Industry insiders said that in terms of popularity and influence, Weiquan milk powder is a small brand in China. Compared with those big brands that have already formed a certain scale in China, it has no competitiveness in production and marketing.
htmlOn November 17, the Zhejiang Provincial Market Supervision Administration issued a food safety supervision random inspection information notice showing that ethyl vanillin was detected in a batch of Weiquan Oubeier 1st-stage formula milk powder produced by Hangzhou Weiquan Biotechnology Food Co., Ltd. this year. The notice shows that the detection value of ethyl vanillin in Weiquan Ober infant formula that failed the sampling test was 103.5μg/kg. It is worth mentioning that Hangzhou Weiquan Biotechnology Food Co., Ltd. applied for re-examination of the milk powder, but the re-examination results were still unqualified.
data shows that ethyl vanillin plays a role in increasing fragrance and setting fragrance, and is widely used in cosmetics, tobacco, pastries, candy, and baked food industries. The Ministry of Health formulated and issued the "Regulations on the Use of Spices in Infant Formula Foods and Cereals" clearly states that no edible spices shall be added for infant formula foods covering 0 to 6 months of age; vanillin, ethylvanillin and vanilla bean extract can be used in formula foods of older babies and children, but there are strict regulations on the maximum usage.
In response to this, Wei Quan responded to the media that after the company's investigation, the reason why ethyl vanillin was mixed in the batch of milk powder involved may be that there was a temporary production plan adjustment that day, and 1 milk powder was produced using a production line of 3 milk powder. Although the factory cleaned the relevant three-stage milk powder production line, since the amount of the first stage of milk powder produced is not large, there may be occasional residual ethyl vanillin in individual batches. Out of a responsible attitude towards consumers, the company has currently removed and recalled all batches of 1-stage milk powder.
Tianyancha App shows that Hangzhou Weiquan is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Weiquan (BVI) Co., Ltd., a Taiwan enterprise, and Master Kang are both a subsidiary of Taiwan’s Tingxin Group.
Understand the development path of Wei Company. It is not difficult to find that Wei Company's products are indeed "full of all flavors". Weiquan Company was formerly Hetai Chemical Industry Co., Ltd., which was established in 1953. It was mainly used to manufacture soy sauce, pickles, canned food, and MSG. It began to enter the dairy industry in the 1960s. Weiquan Company launched infant formula in 1964, and in 1997 Weiquan's "Milk Powder Business Department" participated in the early formulation of national infant food standards.
However, when it comes to "weiquan", the first thing that comes to mind is its lactic acid bacteria drink. In 2001, Weiquan Company entered the mainland market with dairy products and beverages. Its products include Weiquan active lactic acid bacteria, Weiquan Daily C juice, Weiquan buttermilk, Weiquan Yanxuan Ranch Refrigerated Milk, Cereal Milk, Benalog Coffee and other categories. Weiquan Company has two factories in Hangzhou, Zhejiang and Langfang, Hebei. At present, the common products of Weiquan Company in the market are mainly Weiquan active lactic acid bacteria and Weiquan Daily C juice.
Food and beverage industry analyst Zhang Guangyang told "Consumer Titanium" that "When entering the mainland market in the early days, Weiquan's lactic acid bacteria drinks were relatively competitive, which made Weiquan quickly occupy a place in the not-so-crowded sub-track of lactic acid bacteria drinks. But at present, the lactic acid bacteria drink industry track is not as wide as before, and Weiquan's company faces huge challenges."
Zhang Guangyang said, "Weiquan's milk powder is different from its lactic acid bacteria beverage development. Weiquan's milk powder is a small brand in China. Weiquan's milk powder has a big gap with brands such as Feihe and Beibei in terms of brand awareness and influence in the domestic market, product marketing and promotion, and product production scale."
"Consumption Titanium" found that it is not the first time that Weiquan's milk powder has "accident". In 2009, according to information released by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, Weiquan Company's infant milk powder was detected in Enterobacterium Sakazaki when entering the country. According to data, Enterobacter Sakazaki can cause severe neonatal meningitis, enterocolitis and bacteremia, with a mortality rate of up to more than 50%.According to the information released by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, this batch of problematic milk powder is "Weiquan" infant formula, "Weiquan" children's growth formula, and "Weiquan" larger infant formula, totaling 9.62 tons. This incident once made domestic consumers avoid milk powder in the company.
In addition, in 2016, the former State Food and Drug Administration announced the results of the inspection of the food safety production standard system such as Hangzhou Weiquan and other brands on the maintenance of production license conditions for infant formula milk powder and the implementation of food safety management systems. The results show that Hangzhou Weiquan has 10 major production defects.
Esakazaki incident and the impact of production defects seem to make Weiquan Company unable to recover. It was not until 2017 that Weiquan Company obtained the national formula registration of three series Aishga, Ober and Merrier, and Weiquan Company has never disclosed the sales of its milk powder.
"Milk powder is closely related to the growth of the next generation. It is difficult for consumers to accept negative information about the milk powder brand. Weiquan's milk powder may be more difficult in the future." Zhang Guangyang said.
