A Lampang-based firm, U.M. Food Product Ltd, has been banned from the government’s school milk scheme for supplying spoiled milk to students in Nan province.
Chairman of the Milk Board Wimol Jantrarotai, deputy permanent secretary at the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry, said a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inquiry found several flaws in the company’s production process, resulting in the supplying of substandard school milk.
The FDA has ordered the firm to stop producing milk.
The Food and Drugs Act provides for a two year prison sentence and 10,000 baht fine for food safety violations, he said. Authorities will lay a complaint against the firm.
The Milk Board resolved to ban the firm from the school milk project. A new supplier will be found to replace U.M. Food Product.
The board has also instructed school milk committees to set down guidelines on penalties for firms found to supply spoiled milk for students.
The ban followed a complaint from teachers at Ban Nam Lee School in tambon Ping Luang of Nan's Na Muen district that most of the UHT milk in cartons supplied to the school had gone off and students could not drink it, even though the expiry date was marked as Feb 21 next year.
An initial probe by the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry found that U.M. Food Product had supplied bad milk to the school.
The ministry contacted the FDA, part of the Public Health Ministry, and asked that officials check the quality of the rest of the school's milk.
The milk was purchased under the government scheme providing free milk to young students nationwide, which is supervised by the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry.
About 20 milk distribution and production companies take part in the project.