The impact of the Chinese milk crisis on global supply chains
3rd October 2008
As the contamination of Chinese milk sends ripples through the global food industry, Eversheds lawyers Richard Matthews and Elizabeth Hyde lay out the due diligence procedures that food companies must go through when sourcing from outside the EU.
The ramifications of the melamine contamination incident continue to reverberate beyond China. The food sector is notorious for its complex, global supply chain networks.
Chinese milk products have been banned by various countries and there has been withdrawal of various chocolate products in Hong Kong and the UK. The European Commission has asked EU Member States to carry out checks on all products imported from China that contain over 15 per cent milk. Trace levels of melamine have been found in chocolate and biscuit products on sale in Indonesia.
Other companies are going to extreme lengths to protect their brands - for example a major food retailer took out a full page advertisement in Singapore’s Strait Times newspaper to reassure its customers that its biscuit products did not contain milk ingredients sourced from China.
China has a poor recent track record when it comes to product safety. Last year saw major international recalls linked to China involving lead paint in toys, toothpaste and pet food. The latest scandal will cause further embarrassment to China, all the more so because it arises as a consequence of deliberate contamination.
