Statement on Purity of our Cheeses  

Due to the current dairy issues in China,(August/September 2008) I would like to assure our customers that our cheeses are totally free of melamine contamination whatsoever. Our cheeses have been tested by ourselves, the Chinese government quality inspection bureau on many occasion and we have sent samples to an USA lab as a control to the testings done in China. All tests show that Yellow Valley meets the highest international standards for farmhouse cheese.

We have been visited on Sunday 21^st of September by Beijing National Quality inspectors and our facilities and testing have been found above reproach. Our cheeses are clean and free from antibiotics too! The government will test each batch of cheeses made and release it for sales if it meets all new stringent standards. We welcome this extra testing to guarantee consumer safety and our future growth.

THE REASONS for us being able to get good quality milk is because we only work with 10 small-scale farmers without middlemen. We know each farmer by name, know his village and where s/he lives. On top of this, we pay farmers between 10-30% higher milk prices that the average milk price in the market. Those three facts ( personal relationship, no middlemen and higher prices) are key to ensuring safe and good quality milk. The high price makes sure farmers do not dilute the milk with water and additives to make it read well, which is happening to the big companies. The milk contamination  issue is primarily relevant to milk powder as it requires high protein contents and the companies have to guarantee that level in their powder, therefore, they have to buy high protein milk which puts pressure on the farmers as their normal quality milk is good but not always high enough in proteins. Apart from the three facts above, another important factor is that we do not require high protein levels and neither does cheese require a certain amount of proteins, so there is no pressure on farmers to 'doctor' their milk. We work with a standard that is not impossible for Chinese conditions and so we do not get troubles. Therefore, our farmers can just do what they are good at: take care of their dairy cows and deliver good milk. All our farmers have signed and fingerprinted a declaration that their milk delivered to Yellow Valley is free from any additives or contaminations. Still, we continue to check our milk every day as we make cheeses from every batch from every farmer. Peace of mind with Yellow Valley! However, due to the way big companies operate in China, they will buy all the milk on the market as there are shortages and they have pressure to operate 24/7. Therefore, the milk will also be used for other products like yoghurts and milk. Above all, high ethical standards, considering the consumer first and foremost is key to a succesful business in any country. Protecting the consumer is protection of the business. Now we face a very difficult time because of the big multinationals not taking proper action and overseeing their production facilities well. Due this dairy crisis many customers are afraid of China made products, however, now we need your support by buying our product.

Actually, now is the safest time in the history of China dairy products as every company is paying extra attention to food contamination.

We are hoping that Chinese Government will support too since this crisis is hitting us strongly. They have the responsibility to make sure, we can communicate to our customers and the responsibility to pay for lose of sales due to this crisis.

Marc de Ruiter (owner/founder) 

When setting up our farm, we were amazed to find out that the hygiene standards in China are higher than the average farmhouse cheesefarm in Holland! In cheesemaking facility, everyone has to change into white sterilized clothes, and booths, wear a mask and wash hands continously and thoroughly.  Our workers are very well trained to keep the highest hygiene standards. A visiting cheesemaker from Holland, who has been in many countries, was totally surprised and impressed with our high hygiene standards. We have our own laboratory to check all batches and milk and water.

Food safety - our cheeses are check by batch in our own laboratory to ensure they meet international cheese standards. Our milk is also check daily to ensure that it is free from harmful substances and bacteria (milk is pasteurized). We have HACCP in place - an international standard to ensure that all critical control points are monitored throughout the cheese making process.

Traceability - each cheese is marked with an unique ID number. This number traces the cheese back to the day of production, who was on duty, who worked that day, which milk was used, the lab reports etc. In the unlikely case, that you are not satisfied with our cheeses, please quote the number so we can trace it back.