Israel’s agricultural minister said he sipped from a milk carton at an Israeli-Sino dairy farm "without any doubts."
Shalom Simchon visited the Sino-Israeli Demonstration Dairy Farm in Yongledien, on the outskirts of Beijing, on Oct. 31 as China strives to tame its tainted milk crisis.
Simchon is in China to represent Israel at the 15th China Yangling Agricultural High-Tech Fair from Nov. 5 to 9. The fair coincides with China-Israel Agricultural Cooperation Week.
The demonstration farm is part of the San Yuan Dairy Company, one of China’s largest milk providers to emerge from the melamine scandal relatively unscathed. Simchon made it a point to sip from a San Yuan milk carton and said he felt free to drink the company’s milk "without any doubts."
"I’m glad the issue of melamine didn’t come up in our facility here in China, and I hope it won’t happen in any other places in the future," he said.
Simchon also said that Israel, because of kashrut and a high concern for public health and safety, holds one of the highest standards in the world for dairy inspection. He said Israel offered to help China deal with the crisis, but China has yet to take up the offer.
The demonstration farm, which has the highest production levels in China, was created in 2001 as an upgrade to an already existing San Yuan facility. It has an Israeli expert to advise in the implementation of Israeli production methods.
