WaBei.com Special Commentator Liu Yang, WaBei.COM News - On September 22, it was reported that last Friday Dangdang.com sent out a public relations article through a PR agency stating "Imported milk powder nearly sold out, weekly sales increased fivefold." The article claimed that all the milk powder sold on their platform was from brands not containing melamine. However, this lie has been debunked by Hong Kong's Ming Pao, as Nestle, which Dangdang claimed to be "free of melamine," was found to have certain products containing melamine, resulting in these toxic milk powders being taken off shelves in many supermarkets in Hong Kong.
At 12:00 AM on September 20, a netizen posted on the WaBei.com forum (http://bbs.wabei.com/thread-47320-1-1.html) accusing Dangdang.com of using the milk powder crisis for unethical PR. At the time, the milk powder brands sold on Dangdang's platform included Nestle, Mead Johnson, Dumex, Anmum Super, Wyeth, Abbott, and Friso. In the article, Dangdang named some of the milk powders sold on their platform as "free of melamine." They used these high-priced foreign milk powders to heavily promote their newly launched maternal and infant channel.
According to WaBei.com, no one has given these brands a definition of "free of melamine"; they just haven't been found to "contain melamine" yet. Are Yu Yuzhu and Li Guoqing now working at the National Quality Supervision Bureau? Some netizens believe that if Dangdang wasn't deliberately doing unethical PR, with their professional knowledge, they wouldn't possibly misunderstand the difference between "free of" and "not yet detected."
Dangdang promotes itself by saying that the milk powder sold on Dangdang is mainly joint venture brands and imported brands, and these milk powders are all "free of melamine" in this special inspection. Netizens sarcastically remarked, "The General Administration of Quality Supervision and Inspection hasn't done a thorough check yet. Dangdang is already jumping up and down, giving their products the title of 'free of melamine'."
Attached, the full report from Hong Kong's Ming Pao:
Retail points stop selling some Nestle milk powders (17:50) September 21, 2008
Since the testing center found that Nestle Gold Growing-up Milk Powder produced in Heilongjiang contains melamine, Hong Kong retail points have stopped selling multiple Nestle milk powders.
A local newspaper commissioned a testing center to inspect a type of Nestle milk powder produced in Heilongjiang, and the result showed it contained melamine. Multiple supermarkets and chain stores have gradually stopped selling some Nestle milk powders and arranged for customer returns.
Watsons and Wellcome Supermarkets stated that they decided to stop selling NESLAC Nestle Gold Growing-up Milk Powder 1+ (900g), NESLAC Nestle Gold Growing-up Milk Powder 3+ (900g), NESPRAY Nestle Children High Calcium Milk Powder 1+ (900g), NESPRAY Nestle Children High Calcium Milk Powder 3+ (900g), NESPRAY Nestle Children High Calcium Milk Powder 6+ (900g), and NESPRAY Nestle Instant Milk Powder (1800g).
PARKnSHOP also stopped selling "Nestle Gold Growing-up Milk Powder 1+" and "Nestle Gold Growing-up Milk Powder 3+" products.
Attached, the original content sent out by Dangdang on the 19th.
Dangdang's imported milk powder almost sold out, weekly sales increased fivefold
Beijing, September 19, 2008 /Xinhua-PR Newswire/ -- Recently, domestic infant milk powder incidents have been frequently exposed. The National Quality Supervision Bureau conducted a special inspection of infant milk powders on the market, and the results showed that melamine was detected in 69 batches of products from 22 milk powder manufacturers, most of which were well-known domestic brands, shocking the public. Relevant national authorities have quickly initiated emergency plans, conducting comprehensive inspections on problematic domestic milk powders, with significant results.
As the world's largest comprehensive Chinese online shopping mall, Dangdang made the maternal and infant channel a key category relaunched in 2008. Due to strict qualification reviews implemented for maternal and infant product suppliers and a strict quality control system, all Dangdang's maternal and infant products are not only much cheaper than peers but also authentic, enjoying a good reputation for safety and quality.
The milk powder sold on Dangdang is mainly joint venture brands and imported brands, and these milk powders are all "free of melamine" in this special inspection. Due to numerous new users choosing to buy safe milk powder from Dangdang, Dangdang's recent milk powder sales have increased fivefold, nearly sold out. Currently, Dangdang is fully organizing sources to meet customer needs. Through this domestic milk powder incident, Dangdang will pay more attention to food safety issues, strictly controlling the purchase process, striving to create an online shopping environment for users that integrates safety, low prices, and a wide variety of products.