CONCERN has been expressed that counterfeit Japanese milk powder in used containers was being sold in the city, but market supervision authorities had not yet found any disqualified or counterfeit powder.
I received several text messages recently, saying they could recycle empty Meiji milk powder tins for 20 yuan (US$3) each and 25 yuan if there were information catalogs in the original package, a young mother surnamed Liu told yesterday s Daily Sunshine.
Liu said several of her friends had received similar messages on mobile phones, microblogs or QQ in recent weeks.
I was not sure if it was true, but it would be terrible if somebody put counterfeit milk powder in such containers and sold them, she said.
Similar information could be found at several local online forums such as popular sz.soufun.com and www.szhome.com. Netizens said many small stores and recycling stations buy such empty containers for about 3 yuan or according to the weight.
We buy the containers according to the weight. It costs about 0.6 yuan per 500 grams of milk powder tins. Some milk powder companies buy the used containers to prevent them from being used by unlicensed businesses, an unidentified owner of a recycling station in Futian District said.
An unidentified industry expert said people should not be too worried about recycling used containers because most foreign dairy companies used advanced sealing technology prevent from any reuse. It costs too much to make counterfeit products by using the containers, he said.
The city s consumer council said there had been no complaints about selling counterfeit milk powder in used Japanese formula containers and market administration sources also said they had not found disqualified Japanese milk powder being sold.
Residents can call 12315 to report violations, an unidentified administration staff member told the newspaper.
The council advised people to be careful when buying milk powder on the Internet to avoid buying counterfeit products.
(Wang Yuanyuan)
