PETALING JAYA - There is a notable difference in taste between genuine Milo and the counterfeit product: Genuine Milo has a malty, creamy rich chocolate taste, while the fake one has a strong cocoa and slightly burnt taste, Nestlé Malaysia said, following a recent raid that uncovered fake Milo products.
"Genuine Milo has a malty, creamy rich chocolatey taste, whereas the counterfeit product has a strong cocoa and slightly burnt taste, which is sweet and is also darker in colour when mixed with water,'' Nestlé Malaysia told The Star newspaper.
When asked about the ingredients in the fake Milo and if it is dangerous for consumption, Nestlé said it does not have information on how the fake Milo was produced.
"We are currently conducting further analysis and tests on the product sample provided by the authorities," Nestlé said.
The company urged consumers to purchase Milo products only from reputable and major retailers in the country. It told The Star that it was mobilising its sales team to identify the counterfeit product and it will continue to cooperate fully with the authorities.
"Nestlé takes this issue very seriously as counterfeiting of products is an illegal activity that deliberately misleads the public.
"Nestlé does not have information on how the counterfeit Milo was produced, therefore we are unable to comment on this," it said.
"We understand that there is an official investigation under way and we trust the authorities will issue further information once this is complete."
Last Friday (March 13), officers from the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry raided a premise in Mantin, Negeri Sembilan, and seized RM250,000 (S$94,000) worth of fake Milo packets, The Star reported.
Six foreign workers were arrested and police also seized 1,000 empty boxes, 50,000 empty plastic packs, a weighing machine, a printer and a numbering printer.
Nestle Malaysia said the counterfeit packaging appears very similar to the genuine one but one difference is that the genuine packaging is machine-packed and cut. This means that the edges on the top of the genuine pack will not have a perfect perforation, unlike that on the counterfeit packaging.
