You Thought It Was Milk Powder, But It Might Actually Be Soy Powder——Investigation into the Chaos of "Niche Milk" Products

Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, March 14 — Title: You Might Think It’s Milk Powder, But It Could Be Bean Powder — An Investigation into Niche Milk Scandals

Xinhua Perspective reporters Dong Xue, Hu Lingo, Zhang Yang

Recently, consumer Ms. Shang purchased a bucket of “Camel Milk Probiotic Protein Powder” online for 158 yuan. Upon arrival, she found that this so-called “milk powder” mainly consisted of soy flour, oat flour, and glucose.

An investigation by “Xinhua Perspective” found that as niche milk powders gradually gain popularity among the public, some deceptive practices have emerged in the market. Some products use borderline naming, packaging, and advertising to mislead consumers; others have ingredient lists that do not match actual contents; and some products even lack information about the manufacturer and production license…

Claimed to be “Didi Pure,” Actual Milk Content Only One Thousandth

On an e-commerce platform, the reporter ordered the same product purchased by Ms. Shang—a certain brand of Camel Milk Probiotic Protein Powder. The product page and images emphasized camel milk, with labels such as “Authentic Camel Milk Powder,” “Middle-aged and Elderly Camel Milk,” “Genuine Camel Milk — We Dare to Promise,” “Rich in Nutrients, Higher Than Cow and Sheep Milk,” and “High Sugar, Drink with Confidence.” After delivery, the first thing that caught the eye was an image of a camel and the words “Source from a certain place, Didi Pure.”

However, upon closer inspection of the ingredient list, the 1000-gram product’s first ingredient was soy flour, followed by oat flour, edible glucose, etc. Full-fat camel milk powder was listed as sixth, with only 1 gram included.

With these doubts, the reporter contacted the store and platform customer service. The customer service claimed that the product was an added camel milk protein powder. The emphasis on camel milk powder was because it indeed contained 1 gram of full-fat camel milk powder. The store also admitted that the product contained glucose, contrary to the claim of “high sugar, drink with confidence.”

When asked why the advertising did not match the actual content, the customer service did not give a direct answer, only offering a return.

The reporter found similar cases on multiple e-commerce platforms involving various brands. For example, a brand of selenium-rich, high-calcium probiotic camel milk nutrition powder priced at 92 yuan, marketed as sports nutrition. Closer inspection revealed that in 1000 grams, it contained only 5 grams of full-fat camel milk powder, with the rest mainly oat flour, maltodextrin, and xylitol.

Another example is a live-streamed sale of “Probiotic High-Calcium Camel Milk (Active Bacteria Type)” priced at 99 yuan, with a “buy one get one free” offer. Camel milk powder was listed first in the ingredients, but this “camel milk powder” was a complex mixture of full-fat camel milk powder, oligomeric isomaltose, and demineralized whey powder. The actual content of full-fat camel milk powder was unknown, and it was also labeled as sports nutrition.

Similar issues exist in other niche milk fields such as goat milk powder and yak milk powder. For instance, a store selling “Middle-aged and Elderly Goat Milk Powder” high-calcium probiotic goat milk nutrition powder, with 1000 grams containing only 10 grams of goat milk powder, mainly maltodextrin and flavoring powder. Another store sold “High-Calcium Yak Milk Nutrition Powder,” with the first two ingredients being maltodextrin and flavoring powder, and yak milk powder listed fourth without specified content.

Some Merchants and Products Suspected of Faking

Chen Yanjing, Deputy Secretary-General of the Consumer Rights Protection Law Research Association of the China Law Society, stated that even if these products have obtained legal production licenses, misleading names, packaging, and advertising can cause consumers to mistakenly believe they have high nutritional value, potentially violating the Consumer Rights Protection Law and the Anti-Unfair Competition Law regarding the obligation to inform consumers and prohibiting false advertising.

On an e-commerce platform, a store’s 500-gram full-fat camel colostrum powder has sold over a thousand units. The packaging shows the manufacturer and production date, but the reporter could not find the company in the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System. Previously, a negative case published by the local Market Supervision Administration indicated that the manufacturer listed on the camel milk powder did not exist.

The store was registered as an individual business in Liaoning but shipped from Guangxi. When asked whether they had a supply source or quality inspection certificates, the customer service deflected with “satisfaction guaranteed returns” and promised “shipping insurance.”

The reporter then filed a complaint with the platform, noting that official cases had shown the manufacturer did not exist. The platform responded that a refund was possible, but to confirm a fake product, they required “brand fake product identification proof” or “administrative penalty decision from the administrative department” or “chat records admitting to selling fake products.”

Some merchants also sell counterfeit products under the guise of imports.

On another e-commerce platform, a store mainly selling double-humped camel milk powder and goat milk powder claimed “original Russian imports.” The reporter purchased a 500-gram product called “Russian Double-Humped Camel Milk Powder” for 52 yuan, with ingredients listed as 100% raw camel milk.

Professional testing agencies found that, whether tested directly or after 15-fold dilution, the product contained cow milk components not listed in the ingredients. Additionally, the authorized distributor “Sui Fen He Rui Xiang Da Trading Co., Ltd.” and related registration numbers in China did not exist.

When asked about this, the store’s customer service did not reply and processed a refund directly.

Chen Yanjing pointed out that some merchants are suspected of producing and selling “three-no products” (no license, no quality certification, no safety standards), posing significant food safety risks.

Industry expert Wu Qichen, head of Hunan Lubao Zhai Dairy Co., Ltd., said that some very low-priced “camel milk powders” carry high risks of counterfeiting. Currently, the procurement price of pure camel milk powder from Xinjiang is at least 300,000 yuan per ton; even for formulated milk powder with 70% content, the raw material cost of camel milk alone exceeds 210,000 yuan per ton, or 210 yuan per kilogram. Factoring in manufacturing and marketing costs, the retail price per kilogram of pure camel milk powder would be higher than that.

“Yak milk powder and goat milk powder are also high-priced milk sources; especially goat milk powder, which has seen significant price increases last year. The current wholesale market price is over 90,000 yuan per ton,” Wu said.

Strengthening Implementation of New National Standards

The Guangdong Food Inspection Institute learned that in February 2024, the National Health Commission and the State Administration for Market Regulation jointly issued the “National Food Safety Standard for Milk Powder and Reconstituted Milk Powder” (GB 19644–2024), which includes standards for milk powders from specialty dairy animals such as yaks, camels, donkeys, and horses. This standard came into effect on February 8, 2025.

The standard clarifies that milk powder is a powder product made from raw milk of a single species through processing. Reconstituted milk powder is a powder product made mainly from raw milk of a single species and/or its whole milk (or skimmed and partially skimmed) processed products, with added other raw materials (excluding other species’ whole milk, skimmed, or partially skimmed milk), food additives, and nutritional fortifiers, processed into powder form. The milk solids content from the main raw materials shall not be less than 70%.

朱丹蓬, Vice President of the Guangdong Food Safety Promotion Association, suggested that for specific categories, regulators should strengthen the implementation of the new standards across all channels and platforms, increase enforcement, publish typical cases, and crack down on “three-no products” with fake manufacturer addresses and no production licenses at the source.

Chen Yanjing added that under the E-commerce Law, platforms that are aware or should be aware of merchants’ false advertising but fail to take action could be held jointly responsible. Platforms should strengthen review of products with keywords like “camel milk,” require merchants to provide testing reports compliant with the new standards, and remove and report products that lack qualifications or receive consumer complaints.

Industry experts advise consumers to learn how to read product labels. Associate Professor Fang Min from Wuhan University of Light Industry’s College of Food Science and Engineering recommends a simple “Four-Step Identification Method”: First, check if the product name is “camel milk powder” or “reconstituted camel milk”; second, verify if the product category is dairy; third, see if it complies with the national food safety standard GB 19644; fourth, examine the ingredient list—pure camel milk powder should only list “raw camel milk” or “camel milk powder,” and reconstituted camel milk should list “raw camel milk” or “camel milk powder” first. If the first ingredients are oats or maltodextrin, it indicates the product is not genuine camel milk powder or reconstituted camel milk.

Senior lawyer Xu Jun from Everbright Law Firm said that if a product is found to be problematic, consumers should first try to negotiate compensation with the merchant; if unsuccessful, they can file a complaint with the e-commerce platform, report to local market supervision authorities, or contact consumer associations. Ultimately, consumers have the right to sue in court for damages.

“Attention should be paid to food safety risks in niche milk fields like camel milk powder, especially for vulnerable groups,” Fang Min emphasized. Some products add vegetable fats, milk-based powders, and glucose to mimic milk flavor. For middle-aged and elderly consumers or diabetics seeking health benefits, these products not only fail to provide health benefits but may also burden the body further.