Yashili Establishes Food Quality and Safety Advisory Committee to Enhance Quality Management and Fast Track Internationalization

Guangzhou, China - Guangdong Yashili Group Co., Ltd., one of China’s largest infant formula companies, announced today along its strategic investors, The Carlyle Group and Shanghai Fosun High Technology Group, the establishment of the Yashili Food Quality and Safety Advisory Committee (FQSAC). The advisory committee is the first of its kind in the Chinese dairy industry. The move represents another significant step forward in Yashili’s mission to build a world-class quality control system, to improve the brand’s competiveness and to fast track the internationalization of the company.

Reporting to Yashili’s board of directors, the committee comprises six individuals from leading academic institutions and industry associations who have extensive experience working with authoritative regulatory bodies around the world. It includes former U.S. Food and Drug Administration director Dr. Robert E. Brackett as Chairman; Australian food science and technology expert Dr. Ken Buckle; Andrew McKinsey who specializes in regulatory approaches to food safety and trade; Dr. Allen Ho, current advisor on food safety to the Food and Environment Hygiene Department of the Hong Kong SAR Government; women and children nutrition specialist Professor Jiang Zhuo-qin, and toxicology and family food safety expert Professor Liu Lie-gang.

The overarching mission of the FQSAC is to assure the safety and quality of Yashili products, provide strategic guidance to the board on policies and procedures, and introduce industry best practices in standards compliance and regulatory codes of conduct.

Mr. Zhang Lidian, CEO of Yashili Group, said, “As the leading dairy company in China, product quality and safety has always been the top priority for Yashili. Our world-class manufacturing facilities, internationally recognized standards of testing procedures, combined with the stringent supervision of the FQSAC, will provide further assurance of our product quality and the company’s competitiveness in China and globally.”

Yashili was established in 1998 but its business started in 1983 as a small workshop. It has since grown into one of the largest providers of infant formula products in China. The company is committed to providing Chinese consumers with infant formula products of the highest quality through a rigorous quality control system, which is being strictly implemented throughout the organization. Over the past 20 years, it has been able to effectively differentiate itself from multinational brands while benefiting from the higher-than-average growth offered by second- and third-tier cities.

Dr. Robert Brackett, Chairman of the FQSAC, said: “China has been playing an increasingly important role in the global dairy product industry over the past ten years. The issues surrounding the quality of infant formula products will be a growing concern for Chinese consumers.”

Patrick Siewert, Senior Director of Carlyle Asia Partners, said, “As a strategic partner of Yashili, Carlyle is committed to the ongoing strengthening of the company’s quality control management and overall corporate development. We hope the establishment of the Yashili FQSAC will help lead the way in significantly raising food safety standards in the Chinese dairy industry, which is currently undergoing strong growth.”

Eric Zhang, Director of Carlyle Asia Partners, said: “The formation of the FQSAC is a significant milestone for Yashili and the Chinese infant formula industry as a whole. It takes food quality and safety in China to a whole new level.”

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About Yashili Group

Guangdong Yashili Group Co., Ltd. is one of China’s largest infant formula companies with a broad product lines from milk powder, cereal, soy milk to rice powder. Headquartered in Chaozhou, Guangdong Province, Yashili has more than 5,000 employees, operates 15 advanced production lines, and manages a nationwide sales network. Yashili is committed to product quality and corporate integrity for a sustainable growth, while building up its capabilities in quality control and R&D. The company has achieved industry-wide quality standards such as ISO9001 and HACCP, as well as certifications by various national authorities, such as China Food Safety Committee and China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine. www.yashili.com.

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