By Kim Jae-won
Maeil Dairies has developed powdered milk for infants suffering from a difficult medical conditions that prevents them digesting breast milk and conventional dairy products. The conditions, called methylmalonic acidemia and propionic academia, are so rare that the company currently doesn’t expect to have more than 17 customers.
Maeil said that the powdered milk, titled MPA-2, represents a money-losing business that will cost the firm around 140 million won every year. The company is operating a manufacturing line that produces about 10,000 tins of the special milk a year. The 17 infants currently suffering from the conditions are expected to buy 1,500 cans, while the remaining 8,500 could be discarded due to their expiration dates.
``It’s our social responsibility to produce these products. We are also involved in other corporate social responsibility programs like providing free powdered milk for low-income households and families of North Korean defectors,’’ said Kim Hee-jeong, head of product development at Maeil.
Only one out of 60,000 newborn babies is diagnosed with the rare diseases. These infants lack the enzymes to digest proteins in breast milk, beef and fish. Without proper diet treatment, the babies could suffer from a variety of physical disorders, including brain damage, which could potentially be lethal.
Parents of the infants who have been suffering from these conditions welcome Maeil’s gesture as they had been forced to rely on expensive imported products.
``We appreciate what Maeil is doing although producing the specialized milk clearly isn’t profitable,’’ said Jeong Hye-jin, president of Parents of Phenylketonuria-suffering (PKU) Infants Association.
Jeong said she and other parents had relied on expensive imports, sold between 50,000 won ($47.2) and 60,000 won ($56.6) per tin. The price of a can of MPA-2 is 22,000 won ($20.8).
Maeil has developed 10 kinds of these special powdered milks so far, which eliminate amino acids and contain vitamins and minerals with their own technology. Maeil has supplied those products since 1999.
There are few dairy companies, which produce and develop these special formulas worldwide, according to Maeil.