hankyoreh

Goat’s milk has been popular in the South Korean market since being deemed effective for infants with milk allergies and eczema. However, the milk will no longer be sold in the U.K. from March next year, as its nutritional content has been found unsuitable for infants.

According to experts in the South Korean infant milk industry and at the National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service, the U.K. Department of Health announced that from March 1, 2007, goat’s milk would not be available for purchase in the nation. The ban follows an assessment by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), which said in January that goat’s milk protein is not suitable as a source of nutrition for infants, adding that there is no convincing evidence to support the belief that the incidence of allergic reaction is lower when using goat’s milk-based formula versus cow’s milk formula.

The composition of infant formula is governed by European legislation, and the law permits it to be based on either hydrolyzed or soy protein. The U.K. government advised health professionals not to recommend the use of infant formula based on goat’s milk protein in light of the EFSA’s opinion, and to inform parents that babies who are allergic to cow’s milk protein can be allergic to goat’s milk protein, as well.

Goat’s milk came onto the Korean market in 2003. It became known as effective for babies who suffer from eczema and who are allergic to cow’s milk and/or breast milk. Though its price per 800g reaches about 40,000 won (US$42), two or three times that of ordinary milk, since goat’s milk was introduced on the domestic market, it has grown to occupy a 10-percent share of the milk market in three years.

Regarding the U.K. ban, a worker at a manufacturer of goat’s milk said, “Other E.U. nations, such as Germany and France, permit the sale of goat’s milk. Secretaries of three E.U. nations including the U.K. will visit New Zealand, the biggest producer of goat’s milk, and if understanding of goat’s milk improves, the U.K. is expected to withdraw its ban on goat’s milk,’’ added the worker.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]