Xinjiang 'Ma Sansan' Pure Milk Found to Contain Water; Regulators Launch Probe

September 24, 2024 | By Zhu Xinyu, Blue Whale News

Regulatory Response

On September 23, the Changji City Market Supervision Administration in Xinjiang issued a notice regarding an incident in which "Ma Sansan" brand pure milk cartons were found to contain clear liquid instead of milk. The administration stated that it has established an investigation team that has entered the company to conduct a comprehensive investigation. The case will be handled in accordance with laws and regulations, and relevant progress will be announced to the public in a timely manner. The administration also reminded consumers who possess the same batch of affected products to properly retain the products and purchase receipts.

Consumer Complaint

The incident originated from a video posted by a consumer, who reported that after cutting open unopened packages of "Ma Sansan" pure milk purchased from streamer Dun Dun's live-streaming room, the contents were not milk. The video showed three cartons being opened: the first and third cartons released a transparent liquid, while the second contained normal white milk.

Company Response

The brand's official store, "Ma Sansan Official Flagship Store," subsequently released a statement acknowledging that test samples from the production process had been mistakenly mixed into finished product packaging and shipped out. The company apologized to consumers.

According to the statement issued by the company on September 22, three investigations have been initiated:

• Reviewing full-chain inspection records for the batch, including raw milk, production, and shipment
• Testing retained samples from the same batch
• Reviewing monitoring records for logistics and shipping batches

The company explained that daily equipment calibration is performed at the start of production. As part of standard testing procedures, purified water is filled into packaging to verify sealing integrity and print alignment. Due to an operational error by workers during sorting, test samples were mistakenly mixed into finished product packaging and shipped.

The statement noted that the purified water used in the test packs met safety standards for production water, having undergone 137°C sterilization for 3 seconds. A third-party testing report was provided. Following the incident, the company has reviewed its production sorting process and strengthened isolation management between samples and finished products. The company has also contacted the affected consumer via private message for follow-up.

Further Clarification

According to a report by Jimu News on September 23, a company representative stated that communication with the consumer who posted the video had been completed. The statement had already identified the batch number of the purchased product, and other batches would not experience similar issues. "If other consumers encounter problems, we will handle them properly, but currently this only involves that specific batch."

CEO Apology

In the early hours of September 24, Ma Liang, Chairman of Ma Sansan Dairy, posted an apology video on his Douyin account. In the video, he stated that the issue originated from adjustments to the company's filling machine parameters. Test water packs used to check packaging seals were mistakenly mixed into finished products and shipped. He confirmed the test water packs contained sterile water. He acknowledged that the incident exposed vulnerabilities in production management and that the company bore full responsibility.

Ma Liang disclosed that a total of 674 orders of the affected batch had been sold. The company is contacting each consumer from that batch for follow-up and is offering a "refund only, no return required" policy for those who purchased products from that batch. According to the company's earlier statement, the affected production period was from 11:11 to 14:03 on July 16. He stated that market regulatory authorities had entered the company to conduct an investigation and that the company would fully cooperate.

Company Background

According to Tianyancha, the seller, Xinjiang Ma Sansan Jiangchun Dairy Co., Ltd., was established in 2018 with a registered capital of 5 million yuan. The actual controller is Ma Liang, who holds 100% ownership. It should be noted that, as indicated in both the regulatory notice and the company's response, the seller (Xinjiang Ma Sansan Jiangchun Dairy Co., Ltd.) and the producer (Xinjiang Ma Sansan Dairy Co., Ltd.) are separate market entities.

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