Twenty years of cold chain

Qingyuan's business has returned to normal, with the milk powder segment being discontinued, but the milk source will continue to be the same as before. Jiang Zhipeng was well aware of the implications and initiated a crackdown on the milk source, with the focus undoubtedly on melamine testing.

However, it was during this period that the State Administration for Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine began to implement a system of on-site supervision of dairy product manufacturers. Qingyuan Dairy, as one of the top three dairy companies in Qingning Province, was a key company for the quality inspection team to supervise.

Looking back at the melamine scandal, while its devastating impact on the country and its people is undeniable, it also undeniably spurred a nationwide awakening to the issue of food safety. Consumers cannot rely on the self-discipline of businesses, but they can exercise self-restraint, which is a form of progress.

Qingyuan's leather milk emerged against this backdrop.

After the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) took over the investigation, some people who had previously worked at the hydrolyzed protein powder factory reported that Qingyuan Dairy had done business with them. Before this issue could be resolved, another arose: some people in several counties in northern Qinghai reported that dairy farmers supplying Qingyuan milk stations had purchased large quantities of hydrolyzed protein powder from the market, diluted milk with water, added the protein powder, and used this to pass inspections and profit from the process.

This prompted the quality inspection team to take the matter seriously. The investigation revealed that hydrolyzed protein powder had already entered Qingyuan Dairy before the melamine incident. Law enforcement agencies conducted surprise inspections of Qingyuan dairy farmers and found 20-kilogram packages of white leather hydrolyzed protein powder on the spot at several farms.

During this period, the state cracked down on illegal workshops producing hydrolyzed leather protein powder. The quality inspection department obtained new clues from this, and Qingyuan Dairy was among the companies they had previously cooperated with.

In other words, Qingyuan Dairy's leather milk has a long history. Although its toxicity is not as high as melamine, the amount of industrial protein powder mixed into the products that have entered the market over the years is a huge number.

Moreover, more than a thousand boxes of contaminated milk products were found among the milk products currently being recalled.

Simultaneously, a major internal investigation was launched into the entire Qingyuan Dairy company, and Jiang Zhipeng and several senior executives were taken away. It must be said that this was a case handled with concentrated effort and special urgency, demonstrating the relevant departments' determination to comprehensively rectify the dairy market. Whether it's tainted milk powder or counterfeit milk powder, there will be no way out; swift and decisive action will be taken without leniency.

The Qingyan Municipal People's Procuratorate filed a public prosecution against Qingyuan Dairy. In early December, the Intermediate People's Court of Qingyan City delivered its first-instance verdict, sentencing Jiang Zhipeng, general manager of Qingyuan Dairy, to seven years in prison, and several other senior executives to three to five years in prison for the crime of producing and selling counterfeit and substandard products.

When I saw Jiang Zhipeng again, it was a scene I had never imagined.

Two telephones, a pane of glass, and he walked toward Hu Shutong in a dark blue prison uniform.

In that instant, Hu Shutong felt that all his mental preparations had collapsed.

That year, in the prime of his youth, at the hot pot restaurant, a giant Pixiu stood out, saying that his place at home was incredibly coveted, but it had to be me; that year, he sat back in the top-floor reception room, a koi fish tank and two screens, warning those people in his own voice, "Don't mistreat my brother"; that year, in Tongxing's conference room, Young Master Jiang pointed out the prospects of cooperation with a laser pointer, telling both sides, "I'm definitely supporting Tongxing's first step!"

Where did all of these go?

He also said that he would not allow Qingyuan milk candy, which had been around for more than 20 years, to change its taste, nor would he allow Qingyuan ice cream to lack sugar or milk. He would not allow himself to hesitate and live off his father's legacy. He wanted to use the assembly plant to support Qingyuan and use branch factories to distribute milk candy and ice cream to all directions.

When my father wakes up, I want him to see a better Qingyuan. Just like in many of my dreams, my father strokes his head and says, "Well done, Xiaopeng."

I don't know when it started, but he became impatient and restless, and he has been in this state of mind ever since.

"Old Hu, I knew you'd come."

"Is everything alright inside?"

"I'm doing well, eating, sleeping, exercising, and doing some chores."

"You!" Hu Shutong sighed, his eyes welling up with tears. He had countless words in his heart, but what use was it to criticize him at this moment?

"Old Hu, over the years we've seen a lot. In this vibrant era, there will always be ants and grasshoppers being trampled underfoot. In this era of 'you are big and I am strong,' there will always be underhanded attacks. When you're attacked, you're attacked indiscriminately. There are plenty of people who have made the same mistakes as me; I'm just the unlucky one."

"The dairy industry is in such a state, and you just feel unlucky?"

"Dairy industry, you've all got your eyes on the dairy industry. But let me ask you, how many of those meat processing and egg-related businesses are clean? They're just lucky, unlike the melamine scandal which caused deaths, and unlike me, who ended up covering for them and getting myself into trouble! Old Hu, in this era of booming private food companies, let's not even talk about the distant future. If Old Chen's Tiansheng Food Industrial Park were to announce a thorough investigation in three days, do you believe that half the goods would disappear by then? Including your Tongxing, can you honestly say you haven't jumped on the bandwagon of this era?"

"You're thinking about this industry in too extreme a way; what you're seeing is only what you want to see."

Jiang Zhipeng shook his head. "You don't understand because you're not the producer. You only need to peel and wash the potatoes, chop the cabbage in half, and separate the pig's hind leg into a trotter and a hoof. You don't have any room for creativity, understand? But what about sausages, luncheon meat, and various sauces? People have so many ways to do that. As for whether it's legal or not, some of them are simply not legally permissible, do you understand?"

"What are you trying to say?"

"What's the highest-level law in our industry? It's called the Food Hygiene Law, which has been in effect for thirteen years. Let me tell you plainly, it's completely inadequate now; it's outdated. Its enforcement is insufficient; it doesn't even regulate food additives. I ask you, how many loopholes are there? Melamine is certainly terrible, but who dares to say that the additives circulating in various food sectors don't contain another kind of melamine?!"

"This is what you call bad luck, but besides the chaos you mentioned, there are also people thriving. You've just adapted to the wrong place."

Jiang Zhipeng shook his head and smiled, "Don't say I'm extreme anymore. You're too idealistic. In this era, who is really being misled? We'll see in the future."

"Jiang Zhipeng, what does this have to do with the times! You're the one who can't wake up, so you blame the times for being powerless. What era would allow industrial protein to run rampant? What era would allow counterfeit milk to be openly compliant? You're never wrong because the times take the blame for you, but this era includes you and me. The more you say this, don't you feel like you've let this era down?"

……

I've loved cold chain logistics for twenty years.