The first amendment to the National Food Safety Standard for Sterilized Milk (hereinafter referred to as the "Sterilized Milk National Standard") has been officially implemented. The core change of the new standard is straightforward: the production of sterilized milk (i.e. pure milk commonly found on shelves) can only use raw cow (sheep) milk as the sole raw material, officially closing the door to reconstituted milk. Why is it no longer allowed to use reconstituted milk in the production of sterilized milk? Restoration milk, in layman's terms, is cow (sheep) milk made by blending and reducing powdered milk. "Wang Jiaqi, Chief Scientist of the Quality, Safety, and Risk Assessment Technology Innovation Team of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, introduced that this" powdered milk with water "raw material has undergone multiple thermal processing during the production process, and some heat sensitive nutrients such as active protein and vitamins are easily destroyed. The revision and implementation of the national standard for sterilized milk is aimed at ensuring the "purity" and "freshness" of sterilized milk from the source. According to the revised standard, enterprises must not only use raw milk as the sole raw material and not add other ingredients, but also truthfully label the raw material information on the product packaging to make the information more transparent. This revision is an important improvement in the quality of dairy products in China and a specific measure to promote the high-quality development of the dairy industry. ”Wang Jiaqi said that this practice is also in line with international conventions. Currently, most developed countries and international organizations require sterilized milk to be made only from raw milk. Will using only raw milk increase processing costs? ”This is a concern for many people. Wang Jiaqi stated that from the monitoring situation, the difference between the average purchase price of raw milk in China and the landed dutiable price of imported bulk formula milk powder has been very small since 2020, even at the same level. Directly processing raw milk will not have a significant impact on the raw material costs and terminal product prices of enterprises. More importantly, this measure injects a shot of adrenaline into the domestic dairy farming industry. In the past, some companies, due to cost considerations, extensively used imported milk powder to process reconstituted milk, which squeezed the market space for domestic fresh milk and affected the income and enthusiasm of dairy farmers. Liu Changquan, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, stated that the revision and implementation of the national standard for sterilized milk will increase the demand for raw milk from dairy companies, promote closer interest connections between enterprises and dairy farmers, help ensure the income of dairy farmers, stabilize milk prices, and guide the industry to attach importance to the construction of milk source bases, promoting the healthy development of the industry. With the support of national policies, the comprehensive guarantee capacity of China's dairy industry has significantly increased. In 2024, China's dairy production reached 41.555 million tons, ranking fourth in the world. Li Shengli, Chief Scientist of the National Dairy Industry Technology System, stated that in the past, choosing to restore milk was a last resort to address the shortage of milk sources under specific historical conditions. The current revision of standards is an active move to comply with consumer upgrading and guide the high-quality development of the dairy industry. After the implementation of the revised national standard for sterilized milk, consumers will find it easier to purchase pure milk. After September 16th this year, all products labeled as "pure milk" or "pure sheep milk" on the packaging must be made from 100% raw milk. Consumers can also distinguish by checking the product standard number: GB 25190 represents sterilized milk (pure milk), while GB 25191 represents formulated milk. It should be clarified that reconstituted milk is not strictly prohibited and can still be used for the production of blended milk and fermented milk (yogurt), but the words "reconstituted milk" must be clearly labeled in a prominent position on the packaging. The update of the standard for a cup of pure milk is not only a continuous improvement of standards, but also a leap in the quality of China's dairy industry, which will further meet the people's demand for high-quality life and promote the high-quality development of the industry chain. (New Society)