“Sweet deception”: experts found fake condensed milk in St. Petersburg

Specialists of the “Public Control” checked the condensed milk on the shelves of St. Petersburg stores, and found that the manufacturers were counterfeiting it.

As part of the examination, it was decided to check the quality of condensed milk with the GOST 31688-2012 marking, which is also sold under its own brands of retail chains. They are the most attractive to the consumer, as they are cheaper compared to similar products on the shelf.

Last year, during the inspection of the batch dated 07.10.2020, whole sweetened condensed milk was rejected by the mass fraction of fat and the mass fraction of protein in the dry skimmed milk residue (SOMO).

“SOMO is what remains of milk if you remove all the water from it and remove all the fat,” said Vladimir Dotsenko, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Academician of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences. – This is an indicator of the naturalness of milk. If it is less than 8.2%, then the milk is diluted with foreign raw materials. Milk is a source of easily digestible protein. If its share is underestimated, the product loses its biological and nutritional value.”

“A private brand of a retail chain is always a compromise between price and quality,” explained Vsevolod Vishnevetsky, chairman of the St. Petersburg Public Control Organization “Public Control”. “The only way a manufacturer can put his product on the shelf under a private label is if he cuts his costs enough to fit into the purchase price of a greedy chain. And costs can be reduced in only one way: to reduce the cost of raw materials per unit of output. In this case, we see a vivid example of such a beneficial interaction between retail chains and the manufacturer.”

If in the manufacture of products under private labels of retail chains, manufacturers are still trying to “keep the brand”, without sinking to outright falsification, then when producing condensed milk under their own brands, they often go “breaking bad”.

“Manufacturers, in pursuit of profit, often save on raw materials, which is why we often see such low protein rates,” explained Anatoly Brusentsev, Associate Professor at the Department of Applied Biotechnology at ITMO University.

The experts also explained why condensed milk is dangerous, and answered the question of whether it is worth cooking it yourself.

“Whole condensed milk with sugar is not as harmful as other canned foods, but it has a lot of carbohydrates,” said Olga Modenova, gastroenterologist of the highest category. – From the abuse of condensed milk, the harm is almost the same as from overeating sweets or refined sugar. Remember that condensed milk is quite high in fat, so people on a low-fat diet should be extra careful with this treat. Some children and teenagers have a habit of eating a can of condensed milk at once – making a hole in the lid and sucking out the contents. It’s as bad as eating chips or constantly drinking a lot of cola. Not immediately, but gradually, such an abuse of condensed milk will lead to a violation of carbohydrate metabolism in the body.

“The danger of condensed milk is in its great taste, which is achieved through a high content of sugar and fat,” said nutritionist, psychotherapist Andrey Bobrovsky. – The product is so attractive for children and adults that it can be difficult to limit yourself to one spoon. Meanwhile, milk fat in large quantities poses a danger primarily to the cardiovascular system. It should also be borne in mind that during heat treatment, a significant part of the vitamins in condensed milk is destroyed. Some mistakenly believe that condensed milk is a source of protein. There is indeed more of it in the product than in other sweets, but this is far from the highest protein product, so you should not flatter yourself about this.”

According to experts, it is also categorically not recommended to cook condensed milk on your own, because during cooking, toxic substances from a can enter the product, which should not be heat treated.

Do you like boiled condensed milk? Buy it only if you trust the brand. According to Brusentsev, dishonest producers boil condensed milk for less than the required time and, in order to achieve the desired taste, color and consistency, add dyes, stabilizers and flavors to it.