'Milk testing notice' for teachers suspended after criticism

A notice that asked teachers to test if milk is drinkable for students one hour before distribution in a county in East China's Anhui province was suspended on Tuesday after provoking online criticism.

According to the notice, which went viral after being published on May 18, milk provided to some schools in Xiaoxian county had a risk of endangering students' health, so a notice was posted asking class supervisors to "enhance their sense of responsibility" and that "they will be punished severely if there is spoiled milk causing serious consequences."

"Why should teachers be the guinea pigs?" was a common sentiment on the internet. Many netizens thought the notice unreasonable and published comments doubting its fairness on social media.

In response to overwhelming criticism, the official Weibo account of the local publicity authorities posted a reply on the issue. Due to online doubts, the notice was not put into practice, the post said.

The milk provided to students is supplied by four enterprises which won a government purchase bid in August 2017.

Three bags of milk were found unfit to drink before the notice was issued. Milk supply to students was then cut and the milk in question was sent for inspection.

As the test result showed the supply was safe, milk services will be restored on May 28, according to the milk companies' bid contract.