Twenty years of cold chain

It was autumn and winter was approaching when law enforcement vehicles suddenly drove into Tongxing.

Recent upheavals have caused unprecedented panic, not only among the other Tongxing employees but even among Hu Shutong himself, upon witnessing this scene. The group that arrived was a joint operation by the supervisory and health departments, and what was most unexpected was that they were there to collect documents such as purchase invoices and production invoices from Tongxing's previous collaboration with Qingyuan.

They then inquired about Hu Shutong's recent business dealings with Qingyuan, whether Qingyuan's products were still stored in the park, and whether they were circulating in other channels outside the park.

Gradually, Hu Shutong's panic turned into fear. The cooperation between Tongxing and Qingyuan had been going on for a long time. To dig up such an old foundation, something big must have happened again.

He has been paying close attention to the dairy industry. After the melamine scandal, a nationwide investigation was launched, and the government introduced a series of strict control measures in response to such egregious incidents.

If the issue were still related to melamine, Qingyuan wouldn't have waited until now to be thoroughly investigated, and that's precisely what Hu Shutong fears.

Recently, he couldn't contact Jiang Zhipeng. From the information he gathered, he learned that Qingyuan had publicly auctioned off the milk powder equipment it had previously invested heavily in, mortgaged some of the assets, and taken out a loan from the bank. Jiang Zhipeng did not "break his promise," completely cutting off milk powder production while frantically pushing forward in other dairy products.

In his mind, although domestic infant formula had regressed by twenty years, the market for dairy products such as pure milk, yogurt, ice cream, and cheese was still there. At a time when almost all companies were silent, taking swift action to expand this market segment became the path to success.

Hu Shutong's initial advice was based on the high risks and numerous market uncertainties. He argued that taking on more loans now would only cause the problem to snowball, and that waiting for things to clear up was the wiser course of action. However, what was happening now made him realize that the situation had far exceeded the scope of market risks and was definitely beyond Jiang Zhipeng's expectations. What exactly had happened to cause the relevant departments to target Qingyuan in this way?

A huge shadow loomed over Hu Shutong's mind, a deep-seated unease that he could not shake off no matter what he did.

It couldn't be melamine. At this juncture, only someone with a death wish would dare to associate themselves with melamine. The fear is that even if it's not melamine, any issue related to the dairy industry will inevitably draw criticism.

According to what was later learned, Hu Shutong was shocked and underestimated the vendors' "problem-solving ability," and was amazed by their "creativity" and the "courage" that arose from their pursuit of profit at such a critical juncture!

Since the nitrogen in melamine does not come from protein, the presence of this type of chemical raw material can be detected simply by using technology to detect non-protein nitrogen.

Well then, what can you do to me if I add real protein nitrogen?

This is a "technical upgrade" to crack the melamine scandal!

We all know that leather and hair are mainly composed of collagen, which is insoluble in water in its natural state, but can be hydrolyzed using proteases and then dissolved in water. Adding "hydrolyzed collagen" to milk serves the same purpose as melamine: to obtain a high protein content using a deceptive value, but nutritionally it is "inferior protein" and is undoubtedly adulteration.

Collagen itself is non-toxic and harmless, but during the leather processing, tanning and dyeing require the use of many toxic chemical reagents, which will naturally remain in the leather waste!

Some heavy metals can accumulate in human bones, causing poisoning and leading to joint swelling.

Unscrupulous merchants buy up large quantities of leather scraps or animal hair, process them into protein powder, and sell them to dairy farmers with instructions for use, ultimately leaving the powder on the market.

This is "leather milk"!

We underestimated the vitality of counterfeit milk, and their spirit of "getting back up wherever they fell" is truly astonishing!

It's worth mentioning that "leather milk" isn't a new term; the earliest incident dates back to 05. But at that time, "leather milk" was like a recently convicted criminal committing violence in prison—once discovered, it would inevitably face severe investigation and punishment, with even more serious consequences.

Where there is profit, there will be people willing to take risks. Melamine closed the window of non-protein nitrogen, but it made those who "have nitrogen to follow" think that a new door had been opened, and even thought that hydrolyzed collagen could become popular.

If melamine was an earthquake for the industry, then counterfeit milk powder, represented by "leather milk," was a series of aftershocks that completely destroyed trust in the already fragile dairy industry.

The matter simmered in the shadows, with very little related media coverage, yet law enforcement's actions were thorough; otherwise, they wouldn't have uncovered Qingyuan's activities from several years ago. It's easy to imagine this was a comprehensive and in-depth investigation—in other words, a complete stripping of Qingyuan. The most frightening aspect is whether it will become a prime example, a deterrent measure for a broader crackdown.

Hu Shutong was extremely anxious and became more and more frightened. He went to Qingyuan headquarters several times, but they refused to let anyone in.

It wasn't until three days later that Hu Shutong learned that Jiang Zhipeng had been taken away a week earlier.

……

I've loved cold chain logistics for twenty years.