A recent food safety inspection revealed that a batch of no-added-sugar black sesame paste produced by VV Corporation, a long-established food company in China, had exceeded the standard limit for mold detection values, with the highest value being 28 times the limit, or 27 times over the standard. As of September 23, VV Corporation has not issued a public statement regarding this matter.
The implicated product, a batch of “VV” no-added-sugar black sesame paste, was flagged for failing the mold indicator test in the recently released food safety inspection results. The product specification is 320 grams per bag, with a production date of August 13, 2025.
This product is manufactured by VV Corporation’s wholly-owned subsidiary, VV Huashan Walnut Industry Co., Ltd., and sold by Shanghai Shenyu Food Sales Co., Ltd., Minhang Branch.
The mold detection values for the five samples from the same batch were 330, 2800, 1500, 1800, and 1700 CFU/g. CFU/g is the unit used to measure the amount of mold in each gram of food.
According to relevant standards, the mold detection value for any sample should not exceed 100 CFU/g, and at most, only two out of five samples can exceed 50 CFU/g.
In this case, all five samples exceeded the maximum limit, with the highest detection value reaching 2800 CFU/g, which is 28 times the standard limit, exceeding it by 27 times.
According to the “21st Century Economic News,” as of September 23, VV Corporation has yet to provide a public explanation on the issue. Their customer service representatives only stated that they would forward interview requests, and the company’s board secretary and securities department have not responded to interview emails.
The Shanghai Market Supervision Bureau mentioned that the relevant non-compliant products and their producers will be investigated and dealt with by local authorities. However, as of the time of writing, the recall, distribution, and specific handling results of the problematic batch have not been disclosed.
Chinese food industry analyst Zhu Danpeng commented that the significantly exceeding mold levels reflect significant deficiencies in the quality management system of the involved company, emphasizing the need for establishing appropriate management systems in food production from raw material procurement, processing, to storage and transportation.
Reports suggest that the excessive mold levels in cereal products may be related to contamination of raw materials or packaging materials, insufficient cleaning and disinfection of production equipment, inadequate packaging sealing, or improper storage conditions. The current inspection data has not revealed the specific reasons for this violation.
Established in 1994, VV Corporation went public in Shanghai in 2000 and became a well-known food brand in China with the slogan “VV Soymilk, Joyful and Happy.” In 2021, Xuzhou State-owned Enterprise New Sheng Group became its controlling shareholder.
The company’s 2025 financial report shows that solid instant beverages such as soy milk powder accounted for 53.85% of the total revenue, totaling 1.803 billion RMB, making it the largest revenue source. The revenue in the same business segment decreased by 5.55% year-on-year.
VV Corporation’s total revenue in 2025 was 3.349 billion RMB, down by 8.42% compared to the previous year, with a net profit of 335 million RMB, representing an 18.63% decrease.
Previously, VV Corporation’s products had also been found to be non-compliant. In 2020, a batch of student drinking milk produced by its subsidiary Xinjiang VV Tianshan Snow Dairy Industry was deemed non-compliant due to the non-fat milk solids content not meeting the standard.