Chapter 268 Quality Inspection
Hexi's management, from the head Ji Zhuowen to the heads of other departments, have repeatedly made some "radical" remarks in public.

It seems to be exposing the shortcomings of the industry.

It hit the pain points of many people.

Late May.

"Fraudulent marketing and disconnection between breeding and processing are issues that affect the healthy development of the industry."

"Nowadays, the standards for milk collection by companies are getting higher and higher, and the protein content and nutritional content are also constantly improving, but how many companies can really meet the standards?"

"Some nationally famous brands lack relevant monitoring systems from raw material control to market entry, so problems will arise sooner or later."

"This year, the domestic forage supply is sufficient and the price is also on a downward trend, but how many dairy cows on the ranches are eating high-quality alfalfa?"

“Most of them still use low-quality straw as feed.”

"There are more than 20 ways to adulterate milk, from cow urine to hydrolyzed protein to glycine to melamine. There are endless ways to adulterate milk."

"Especially milk powder. Many brands of milk powder on the market have big problems. Fuyang baby milk powder has only been around for two years. Parents should be cautious!"

Although no names were directly mentioned, Hexi Dairy’s remarks quickly attracted the attention of many media outlets.

Things have been turbulent recently.

Sudan red feed, red duck eggs, banned drug residues in turbot, and carcinogenic substances in sweet-scented osmanthus fish...

These incidents have made the public's sensitivity to food reach a critical point.

At this time, Hexi Dairy, which has become one of the industry leaders, was openly and covertly accusing the company of milk fraud.

It undoubtedly attracted a lot of attention.

At the same time, it also aroused hostility from peers.

Hexi Dairy is attacking indiscriminately.

In particular, the person in charge, Ji Zhuowen, has recently changed his previous image of a modest gentleman and has mercilessly criticized the bad deeds in the industry.

When interviewed by a reporter from China Quality Daily, Ji Zhuowen criticized:
"Driven by economic interests, those greedy counterfeiters have already lost their humanity."

The reporter asked: "How do you choose a milk brand?"

“It’s best to choose a brand that has a local ranch.”

"It seems that apart from Hexi Dairy, there are only a handful of dairy companies that own their own ranches?"

Ji Zhuowen said: "Yes, this is caused by historical reasons. The mainstream model of domestic development is to focus on markets rather than pastures."

"Farmers raise livestock on a small scale and most of them feed their pigs randomly without paying much attention to the grass they feed. How can the nutritional value of milk from such a large area be high?"

"Now, in order to cope with market competition, some companies have forcibly raised milk collection standards without raising milk prices, or the milk price increase is not synchronized."

"Dairy farmers are forced into no choice but to falsify prices."

The reporter asked seriously, "Does Hexi Dairy have any evidence?"

Ji Zhuowen raised his eyebrows, as if he had gone a little too far. After thinking for a while, he spoke:

"A lot of people know about the situation, but too many people have concerns. However, the truth will eventually come to light."

"I hope consumers will keep their eyes open when choosing milk products and not be deceived by certain brands."

The reporter asked: "Are Hexi Dairy's products definitely safe?"

"Whether it is safe or not is not up to us to decide, but requires the recognition of national authorities and the public."

Ji Zhuowen also said seriously: "We welcome media friends and consumers from all walks of life to visit our ranch and factory."

Hexi Dairy’s exposure of fraud in the industry quickly spread widely.

It also triggered a market panic.

It makes a lot of brand companies hate it.

Hohhot.

The same city is home to two of the country’s largest dairy brands: Yili and Mengniu.

The feud between the two has a long history.

But in the past two years, the two companies have reached a certain degree of tacit understanding to suppress the development of Hexi Dairy.

However, as the industry leader, Yili has to be more cautious and its methods will not be so blatant.

In comparison, Mengniu seems a bit dirty, or perhaps this is a serious business war.

In the last public opinion offensive against Yili, Mengniu took the opportunity to attack Hexi Dairy.

In the end, he was caught.

Therefore, this time Hexi Dairy’s unusual remarks were interpreted by many as a counterattack by Hexi Dairy, and the company involved in the fraud was Mengniu.

Or there is Yili.

The two companies only regarded it as a normal means of business competition and just exchanged verbal attacks.

This is normal in the dairy industry. There is still no clear conclusion on the controversy over the freshness of cow milk.

Both sides have experts and various mouthpieces, and they are engaged in verbal attacks. I'm afraid Hexi Dairy is still a little stunned.

Therefore, the public relations departments of Yili and Mengniu also responded quickly and responded quickly to the focus of public opinion.

For example, it has a strict quality management system and its product quality is reliable. Yili is also vigorously building its milk source.

Even Mengniu has repeatedly promoted itself as the safest brand.

at the same time.

Hexi Dairy also generously organized media and consumer visiting days.

Factories in various cities and suburban ranches were opened to the public and the media.

Through TV programs, more people can also understand how Hexi milk products are produced.

The long advertisement of Hexi Dairy achieved a perfect closed loop.

Let the public realize that Hexi Dairy’s advertisement is not only an advertisement, but also a reflection of reality.

Following Liu Xiang's footsteps, the long advertisement slowly unfolds.

Breed good seeds - create good chips for dairy industry development.

In the laboratory of the Alfalfa Agricultural and Forage Seed Technology Innovation Center located at the foot of the Qilian Mountains, researchers are collecting and screening important grass seeds such as alfalfa and sheepgrass.

A central repository for germplasm resources of native plants, forage grasses and specialty crops has been built, collecting and preserving nearly 2 germplasm resources of plants.

Through resource collection, evaluation and screening, new varieties are bred and multiple grass seed bases have been established, making it the largest forage germplasm resource bank in the country.

In addition to breeding good grass seeds, we also need to breed good cattle seeds.

Scientific researchers at Hexi Dairy are conducting research on key technologies for bovine stem cell gene editing and biological breeding every day.

A world-leading core dairy cow breeding factory has been built, which can produce 5 high-yield dairy cow embryos annually, and the company's dairy cow high-quality breed coverage rate reaches 100%.

Among them, the proportion of Hexi dairy cows has exceeded 5, and it will reach 100% within one or two years.

Then the screen changed.

Liu Xiang's figure appeared on the grass. The sky and earth were vast and boundless, and the pure snow-capped mountains stood quietly.

The lush green alfalfa is like a tender green scarf of the earth, dotted with newly blooming purple flowers.

This has driven the planting area of ​​high-quality forage grasses such as alfalfa and oat grass to more than 145 million mu, and the self-sufficiency rate of high-quality forage grass is %.

“Spread a layer of silage, add a layer of concentrate…Every bite our cows eat is nutritionally balanced.”

“A carefully formulated feed can reduce metabolic diseases in dairy cows and significantly increase milk production and quality.”

On the Gannan grassland, the vast expanse of grassland is covered with white snow, foxes lurking and rats stalking, and eagles spreading their wings.

The shores of Gahai Lake are covered with lush aquatic plants and rippling blue waves.

On the pure Maqu Plateau, the beauty of the natural grassland appears incomparably majestic.

Liu Xiang ran on the grassland, crossed the pasture area, passed the milk powder factory, and entered the testing room.

Under their sight, scientific researchers in white coats tested the milk protein, milk fat content and minerals one by one.

Milk protein content ≥ 100g per 4.2g of milk;

Milk fat content ≥ 3.8g;

The calcium content of milk per 100g is ≥135mg;

The calcium content of milk per 100g is ≥110mg;

Vitamins…

From a blade of grass to a glass of milk, every aspect of Hexi Dairy meets world-class standards.

In the commercial, there is not a single word about safety, nor any preaching, it is just a plain and simple presentation.

Many people were like watching a micro-movie and were deeply attracted by the beautiful scenery and situations in the film.

Although safety is not mentioned, its safety quality is demonstrated everywhere.

It attracted a lot of enthusiasm in the market, and was directly reflected in the sales data. The single-day sales volume of Hexi Dairy even exceeded 4000 million yuan at one point.

However, in the current public opinion environment, Hexi Dairy's proactive publicity approach also carries great risks.

In particular, the behavior of exposing the industry's shortcomings has caused great resentment within the industry.

Various acts of throwing dirty water followed one after another.

"false promotion."

“The cancer of the industry.”

"Hexi Dairy has vigorously developed large-scale ranches to compete with small and medium-sized dairy farmers for profits, resulting in vicious competition in the industry and dairy farmers killing cows and dumping milk."

"Although Hexi Dairy has improved the industry's quality standards, it has not helped dairy farmers increase their income and become rich..."

"The nutritional content of Hexi milk is ridiculously high, exceeding that of most farms in developed countries. The quality of its testing standards is questionable."

"Hexi Dairy is crying thief. The content of its own ingredients is very likely to be fake..."

They slandered others maliciously, made up stories falsely, and even hired a professional advertising company to carry out malicious attacks.

Various reports and complaints are emerging in an endless stream.

It causes headaches for government departments.

Beijing.

Quality inspection, health, agriculture and other departments have received a large number of complaints and reports, and the public opinion is getting worse and worse.

However, the instigator, Hexi Dairy, was very calm at this time.

...

In a suburban ranch.

The snowflakes danced and covered the mowed alfalfa, but its roots were still tenaciously rooted in the soil.

Fortunately, the ranch had already stockpiled enough fodder of all kinds.

With the existence of Alfalfa Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, Hexi Dairy has never been short of high-quality forage.

The daily milk production of the North China factory has also increased to 33.2 kg. Based on the current efficiency, the average annual breeding cost can be reduced by more than 4 million yuan.
Guo Yang was also very satisfied with this.

Not far away, workers drove tricycles and transferred bags of decomposed and processed organic fertilizer to the yard in an orderly manner, waiting for the opportunity to apply the fertilizer.

"Boss, I heard that alfalfa often dies in nine ways in winter."

The person who asked this question was Jian Xing, the thin director of the ranch's organic fertilizer factory.

Each ranch of Hexi Dairy is equipped with an organic fertilizer factory, and some places have also established separate bioenergy companies.

Utilizing the abundant cow dung in the cattle farm as raw material, biogas, biogas residue and biogas liquid are produced through medium-temperature anaerobic fermentation technology.

The biogas is supplied to the milk factory of Hexi Dairy, and the biogas residue and liquid are made into organic fertilizer products and returned to nearby fields.

Most of the organic fertilizer factories were built last year and only started operating this year.

Guo Yang smiled and asked, "Jian Xing, do you also know about alfalfa cultivation?"

Jian Xing said: "My parents grew alfalfa for many years, so I know a little bit about it."

Due to the existence of Sanyuan Dairy, there is a long history of alfalfa cultivation near the capital.

However, the profits are becoming increasingly sluggish, and coupled with the grain subsidy policy in previous years, the alfalfa planting area has been decreasing.

Guo Yang was also aware of this, but he did not expect Jian Xing to have this experience. No wonder the fertilizer-to-soil project at the North China Ranch was given to Jian Xing to do.

Guo Yang said: "I don't know what the nine kinds of death are. I only know that Alfalfa No. 1 is also very cold-resistant and will have no problem safely surviving the winter in Northwest and North China."

Even though he had heard countless times about the excellence of Alfalfa No. 1, Jian Xing couldn't help but be a little surprised.

Guo Yang said: "It is inevitable that alfalfa will die or be damaged in winter. It is just a matter of how much, because alfalfa has the phenomenon of self-combing and self-poisoning."

"As long as the number of effective plants is kept within a reasonable range, the highest yield can be achieved."

"You can ask more people from Alfalfa about these things, which will be more conducive to improving the soil with fertilizer."

Jian Xing nodded. The boss was just as rumored. He was concerned about and knowledgeable about grassroots affairs.

Guo Yang walked to the side of the organic fertilizer again, took the knife from Luo Xiu, and randomly picked a few bags of organic fertilizer and cut them in half.

Then he grabbed a handful and put it in front of his nose and sniffed it.

This action made the management team who followed even more surprised. Even Ji Zhuowen, who was used to the boss's style, looked surprised.

These organic fertilizers are all made from cow dung.

The boss just smells it directly?

However, Guo Yang felt that there was nothing special about this operation.

He had come into contact with organic fertilizer a lot in his previous life.

In the northwest, especially in Xinjiang Province, it is common to encounter saline-alkali land and other poor soils. Organic fertilizers and coal ash can come in handy at this time.

The easiest way to identify the quality of organic fertilizer is to grab a handful, smell it, pinch it, and then dissolve it in water and burn it. Guo Yang smelled mold and the aroma of soil.

When you squeeze it into a ball with your hands, it won't feel hard or prickly, and after you let go, your palms will remain dry.

Jian Xing looked at the boss's professional movements, and said with awe in his heart, "Boss, our organic fertilizer is absolutely fully decomposed, and the organic matter content is also very high."

Guo Yang smiled and said, "It's pretty good."

Jian Xing said proudly: "At present, the North China factory processes 20 tons of cow dung annually, and can use organic fertilizer to improve 10 mu of medium and low-yield farmland every year."

"Part of it was sold to Inner Mongolia, and part of it was used to improve the coastal saline-alkali land."

You can never have too many things to do to improve your soil.

Through this industrial extension, Jiahe has gradually formed a regional breeding and farming cycle model of "breeding - resource utilization of manure and sewage - planting".

It increases the content of soil organic matter, improves soil fertility, and improves and optimizes soil structure and physical and chemical properties.

The soil porosity, air permeability and water retention capacity have also been greatly improved.

Just then, Ji Zhuowen received a phone call and his expression gradually became gloomy.

After a while, Ji Zhuowen came to Guo Yang's side and said:

"Boss, the relevant department called and said that there are more and more complaints about Hexi Dairy in the market, and asked us to come forward to clarify."

Hexi Dairy has a good reputation among consumers, and even the relevant departments are well aware of where these complaints come from.

Just treat this as normal business competition.

Guo Yang said calmly: "Don't worry about it. At this time, our voices will have little effect. We have to wait for the authorities to intervene."

"But our products are exempt from inspection. Yili, Mengniu, Sanlu and others are also exempt from inspection."

Guo Yang smiled and said, "When public opinion reaches a certain level, the relevant departments will take action."

"But Hexi's daily sales have fallen sharply recently, falling to the 30 million yuan mark again."

"It will pass if you just hold on." Guo Yang said with a smile: "There is always sunshine after the storm."

That being said.

But at night, Guo Yang contacted the teams in various places again and only gathered a small amount of information.

Many facts were confirmed.

A large number of babies suffered health damage, but some companies acted extremely quickly to cover up the facts.

At this time, Hexi Dairy must remain stable and wait for the team to obtain more evidence.

Another two days passed.

The dairy industry is in chaos.

Because it was an exempted product and involved a star enterprise, local authorities did not know how to deal with the matter and reported it to the higher authorities.

The relevant departments such as quality inspection, health, and agriculture are troubled by various complaints.

This time it is Hexi Dairy that is causing trouble. He used to be a good kid, but now he has reached the age of rebellion.

It's time to knock.

The approval from the superiors came out very quickly, and all the necessary inspections should be carried out. To the surprise of the superiors, this was also a requirement proposed by Hexi Dairy on its own initiative.

...

Hohhot.

Mengniu's marketing and publicity department has always been a leader in the marketing industry.

In just a few years, it has frequently become popular in the industry by leveraging on hot topics such as the Shenzhou 5 launch, Super Girl, and the Olympics.

The shadow of Mengniu can be seen everywhere in the marketing of Hexi Dairy.

"Hahaha...Hexi Dairy has now shot itself in the foot. The Magic City has also conducted random inspections."

"The same situation exists in South China, North China, Central China, and Southwest China."

"As things stand, at least half of Hexi Dairy's factories are facing random inspections."

"The speed of Hexi Dairy's goods moving in containers on the market has obviously slowed down, and the daily sales volume is likely to drop significantly."

...

North China, Hebei Province.

Yamaga's management also breathed a sigh of relief.

Hexi Dairy made many targeted remarks publicly, which once caused Yamaga, who had something to hide, to feel uneasy.

They know that there may be problems with their products, and although the specific reasons are unclear, the important thing at this time is to cover up the problem rather than expose it.

Fortunately, the recent red-heart duck eggs, turbot, osmanthus fish, and the attack on Hexi Dairy have diverted public attention.

Some problems are well known to everyone, but it would not be nice if they were spoken out, so don't blame me for taking advantage of the situation.

Various inspection teams rushed straight to the ranches and factories of Hexi Dairy. For a while, Hexi Dairy was at the center of the storm.

“The most rigorous testing ever.”

"Whether it's genuine or just bluffing, Hexi Dairy has nothing to hide this time."

With the instigation of some people with ulterior motives, the news that Hexi Dairy was facing large-scale inspection by the authorities spread widely in society.

After the red-heart duck eggs incident, Hexi Dairy seemed like a different person, frequently appearing in the public eye.

I didn't expect that this was my own fault.

Faced with various random inspections, it is difficult to avoid problems. Even if there are no problems, production work will be seriously affected.

The only surprising thing is that Hexi Dairy still has many loyal fans who actively make their voices heard on the Internet.

The majority of loyal consumers also hope that Hexi will take the initiative to speak out.

Give consumers an explanation.

Clear your own name.

However, Ji Zhuowen remained calm when facing the visiting media.

"As I said, whether it is safe or not, whether the quality is fake, everything should be decided by the authorities and consumers."

"Hexi Dairy has confidence in its products, so please wait for good news."

……

After receiving the approval, local quality inspection, health, agriculture and other relevant departments quickly took action.

We went to Hexi Dairy’s ranches and factories again and again to conduct research and random inspections, and even special inspections.

Unexpectedly, Hexi Dairy was extremely cooperative.

Even many items that are not within the scope of random inspection are included in routine inspection items by Hexi Dairy.

For example, melamine, as a chemical agent, should not appear in any food.

In the past, companies and relevant departments would not conduct random inspections on these items, but this time, Hexi Dairy took the initiative to provide testing equipment and the relevant departments also did so.

The results were also surprising.

Milk protein, milk fat, minerals, vitamins...all indicators are completely consistent with the data publicized by Hexi Dairy, and the publicity is even slightly conservative.

It's not false advertising at all.

The quality of the forage and the workshop environment are both exceptionally good, definitely the best in the country.

The milk source environment is even simpler and purer, with only a simple line, which is completely under the control of Hexi Dairy.

All in all, there are no problems to be found in any aspect.

North China Ranch.

In a government vehicle, several inspectors were still discussing in low voices.

"There's a reason why Hexi Dairy is so tough. After a busy day, there weren't any problems at all."

"To be honest, I'm ready to have my family buy milk products from Hexi Dairy."

"Stop chatting, the question now is what should we do?"

The leading inspector calmly touched the envelope in the inner bag of his shirt, felt its thickness, and said with a smile: "Just do business as usual!"

"That's what I mean. Since there are reports from the public, we just need to make all the data and test results public as normal."

"Well... better get back and make an announcement."

"Then I'll go back and work overtime to finish the manuscript. I'll attach the official seals of both of your companies and issue the announcement together."

"Row."

"That's okay with me too."

For them, this inspection went exceptionally smoothly. The large-scale and standardized ranch not only makes enterprise management easier, but also makes inspection more convenient.

They didn't encounter any obstacles, as if Hexi Dairy was waiting for them.

Even the testers have begun to suspect that it was Hexi Dairy that took the initiative to stir up trouble in order to create a unique publicity campaign.

Just might be screwed up.

This caused Hexi Dairy to incur public outrage.

Not only dairy companies, but also many dairy farmers are spontaneously boycotting Hexi Dairy's practices.

The public opinion risk is huge.

The higher-ups have made specific requirements, and I believe that Hexi Dairy’s ranches and factories across the country will be subject to the most stringent inspections.

I don't know if I can get through it.

Under the watchful eyes of the public, the first inspection report from Beijing on the Hexi Dairy North China Factory came out.

All the data were clearly displayed.

Even the comparisons with the promotional data are listed one by one.

Almost every item is slightly higher than advertised. False advertising? Absolutely not.

Nutritional fraud?

There is no such thing at all.

The conclusion of the report is simple and direct.

Under the leadership of our center and with the assistance of various departments, Hexi Dairy’s milk products fully meet the standards of the world’s top milk products.

After seeing such a report, major dairy companies were dumbfounded.

No, are you serious?
Consumers who support Hexi Dairy began to cheer and rejoice, but there are still many people who remain stubborn.

"It's too early to be happy now. There are still so many places that haven't issued reports. It's normal for dairy companies in the Gyeonggi region to pay more attention to it."

"What about the red duck eggs? They are designed to cheat people from Beijing."

The debate did not last long because with the capital taking the lead, announcements from other regions were soon issued.

Except for some slight differences.

There is absolutely nothing to fault with Hexi Dairy.

In some local reports, such as those from Gansu Province, Xinjiang Province, Shaanxi Province, as well as Guangdong and Fujian in South China, the praise was undisguised.

"Hexi milk is the pride of the national brand."

"With high-quality forage grass, natural pastures, and modern management, Hexi Dairy has made its liquid milk, milk powder, and other dairy products the best in China and world-class..."

It would be fine if it was just one report, but more than a dozen, twenty, or even all the conclusions in a row all confirm the meticulous management and excellent quality of Hexi Dairy.

Such a result has caused the entire dairy industry to remain silent, and even sent a chill down their spines.

This quality control management is too outrageous.

With the current small-scale ranch model, it is impossible for companies other than Hexi Dairy to achieve such ranch management.

As for consumers, they have long been conquered by the taste of Hexi Dairy and have indeed experienced the benefits after drinking it for a long time.

Now that the quality has been endorsed by authoritative departments, some rumors have been refuted.

Naturally, you can consume with confidence.

The daily sales volume of Hexi Dairy has resumed its rapid upward rhythm after fluctuating up and down.

North China Ranch.

Guo Yang hasn't really paid much attention to quality inspection recently. After all, he had already done a self-inspection in advance, so even if there were any problems, they would only be minor ones.

However, after seeing the conclusion of the report, he still breathed a sigh of relief.

The necessary preparations have been made, and the relevant materials and evidence chains have also been outlined.

In a small conference room.

Many elite talents have come from Tianhe Seed Industry and Hexi Dairy Industry.

At this time, everyone has already learned the summary results of the relevant events.

Even if they participated in the investigation and had some expectations in their minds, the various profit-driven practices still frightened many people.

Especially the people in Tianhe Seed Industry, who originally thought that the phenomenon of counterfeiting in the seed industry was already chaotic enough, but they did not expect that the situation in the seed industry was even worse.

It can even be described as vicious.

In liquid milk, this is done to make it easier to add water to increase the weight, while also allowing the thinned raw milk to be seen at a glance, and to adjust the color and texture of the milk.

Such blending occurs more than once in the entire supply chain.

Everyone looked heavy.

Guo Yang said: "Let this all end soon!"

(End of this chapter)