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🇹🇼 Taiwan /Economy & Trade

Taiwan's Fresh Milk Exclusively Uses Top-Grade Raw Milk

From Liberty Times · () Chinese

Translated from Chinese, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Taiwan's fresh milk uses only Grade A raw milk, unlike other countries that often use lower grades for exports.
  • Taiwan's milk industry adheres to strict standards, rejecting Grade B, C, and D milk and requiring zero antibiotic residue.
  • The strict standards and quality control aim to prevent issues seen in other countries, such as China's 2008 melamine scandal.

Taiwan's fresh milk market, often criticized for its high retail price of approximately NT$90 per liter, operates under exceptionally stringent quality standards. The Taiwan Dairy Association (TDA) clarifies that while raw milk is graded A, B, C, and D based on somatic cell counts, Taiwanese fresh milk and even UHT milk exclusively use Grade A raw milk. In contrast, milk products exported from countries like New Zealand, Australia, and the United States frequently utilize lower-grade raw milk.

Grade A milk has fewer than 300,000 cells, Grade B between 300,000 and 500,000, Grade C from 500,000 to 800,000, and Grade D from 800,000 to 1 million.

— Hsu Chi-taiExplaining the grading system for raw milk based on somatic cell counts.

Raw milk is classified by somatic cell counts per milliliter (ml). Grade A milk has fewer than 300,000 cells, Grade B between 300,000 and 500,000, Grade C from 500,000 to 800,000, and Grade D from 800,000 to 1 million. According to Hsu Chi-tai, honorary professor at National Taiwan University and TDA chairman, high somatic cell counts often indicate inflammation in the cow's udder. Taiwanese milk factories contract with dairy farmers to accept only Grade A milk, discarding any lower grades. They also employ low-temperature sterilization to preserve nutrients and require zero detection of drugs and antibiotics, exceeding national standards.

If somatic cell counts are high, it usually means the cow's udder is inflamed.

— Hsu Chi-taiExplaining the health implications of high somatic cell counts in raw milk.

Rigorous checks are in place throughout the supply chain. Large milk transport trucks collect raw milk from multiple contracted farms. Before unloading, samples are tested for contaminants. If a sample fails, the entire batch is destroyed, and the problematic farm is identified through the retained sample. The responsible farm must then compensate the other farms on that truck's route, a significant financial deterrent that encourages extreme caution among dairy farmers. This meticulous process ensures the integrity of Taiwan's milk supply.

Taiwanese milk factories only accept Grade A raw milk when signing contracts with dairy farmers; other lower-grade raw milk must be discarded.

— Hsu Chi-taiDescribing the strict sourcing policy for raw milk in Taiwan.

The discussion around milk quality and safety is particularly relevant given past incidents, such as China's 2008 melamine scandal, which caused severe health issues. Taiwan has banned Chinese dairy imports since then. Despite China's current record-low milk prices, Hsu Chi-tai argues against resuming imports due to prevalent animal diseases in China, lack of transparent epidemic prevention, and the inherent risk of milk as a pathogen carrier. He emphasizes that concerns over disease control and product adulteration make Chinese dairy unsuitable for import.

When collecting raw milk from dairy farms, they require zero detection of drugs and antibiotics, a standard stricter than the national requirements.

— Hsu Chi-taiHighlighting the stringent requirements for drug and antibiotic residues in Taiwanese milk.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Liberty Times in Chinese. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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