China's dairy industry has taken a pivotal step toward quality upgrading as a new national standard banning reconstituted milk in sterilized milk came into effect on September 16, marking the dawn of the "100% raw milk" era for UHT milk production.
Issued as the No.1 amendment to the National Food Safety Standard for Sterilized Milk, the regulation stipulates that only raw milk can be used as raw material for sterilized milk (commonly known as room-temperature pure milk), with reconstituted milk strictly prohibited . Reconstituted milk, made by rehydrating dried milk powder, loses heat-sensitive nutrients like immunoglobulin, active enzymes and lactoferrin during repeated thermal processing .
This milestone adjustment aligns with China's dairy development reality. With annual raw milk output exceeding 40 million tons and a sampling pass rate of over 99.9%, the industry now fully meets domestic demand . For consumers, it means purer products with better flavor and more retained nutrients, while driving dairy farms' development and enhancing international competitiveness of Chinese dairy products .
