At the recently convened Sixth National Outstanding Professional and Technical Talent Commendation Conference, Leng Youbin, Chairman and Senior Engineer of Heilongjiang Feihe Dairy Co., Ltd., was honored with the title of "National Outstanding Professional and Technical Talent."
As the leader of Feihe Dairy, Leng Youbin has guided the company to achieve numerous firsts in the infant formula industry. These accomplishments include completing China's first clinical feeding trial for infant formula, launching the nation's first human milk-equivalent high-end infant formula, and pioneering the "more suitable for Chinese babies' physique" concept that has steered the domestic formula industry toward differentiated development. Over a decade, the company forged China's first fully integrated industrial cluster for infant formula, was the first in the domestic sector to introduce a traceability system—later upgraded to become the industry's first enterprise to achieve a dual-screen interactive, visualizable entire industrial chain. It also became the first Chinese infant formula company to list on the main board of the New York Stock Exchange, the first to establish fresh product standards, and the first dairy company to receive the "Ecological Origin Product Protection Certification" issued by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine.
Leng Youbin has presided over and participated in national projects such as the National 863 Program, the National 12th Five-Year Plan Sci-Tech Support Initiative, and the National Spark Program, leading R&D teams in systematic research on Chinese human milk. This effort established a Chinese human milk database and resulted in the global debut of three major human milk research findings, which detailed the key ratios of three major fatty acid categories in Chinese breast milk. The team successfully developed the country's first human milk-equivalent infant formula, "Star Flying Sail," completed China's inaugural clinical feeding trial for infant formula, and was awarded the "Heilongjiang Provincial Science and Technology Award First Prize." The "Star Flying Sail" product has consecutively won the gold medal at the Monde Selection World Quality Awards for seven years, with single-product sales approaching nearly 10 billion yuan in 2020.
Within these research projects, Leng Youbin led Feihe in undertaking the collection and testing of human milk samples from both Heilongjiang and Beijing. This marked the beginning of establishing standardized protocols for human milk sampling and testing, formally opening the door to the systematic and comprehensive study of Chinese breast milk.
After more than a decade of systematic research, Feihe Dairy has progressively built a Chinese human milk database characterized by extensive geographical coverage, large sample sizes, and multi-dimensional data. To date, Feihe's research on Chinese human milk has incorporated nearly 20,000 samples, covering 27 provinces across the country. The research has delved into aspects such as bioactive components, ratios, and dynamic changes, gradually establishing two key technical pathways: Chinese Human Milk Spectrum Research and the CHMP China Human Milk Project.
To address issues such as the high cost and uncontrollable quality of whey-based raw materials, which were subject to external constraints, Feihe's R&D team initiated research on key technologies for dairy base materials. They developed a new whey liquid product that can be directly added to formula powder, effectively reducing production costs for the company. This breakthrough resolved a critical bottleneck issue for the dairy industry, laying a vital foundation for the future autonomous production of key raw materials for infant formula.
In 2021, Feihe globally debuted three major research findings on Chinese human milk, detailing the key ratios of three major fatty acid categories and outlining the dynamic changes of amino acids and active proteins across different lactation stages.
In 2006, Feihe Dairy pioneered the fully integrated industrial cluster development model within the domestic industry, creating a dedicated infant formula industrial cluster integrating "agriculture, animal husbandry, and production." This model ensures full control over every stage, from the initial cultivation of pasture grass and feed processing to large-scale dairy farming, production and processing, and after-sales service. This initiative fundamentally transformed the industrial model of China's dairy sector, establishing a "2-hour ecological circle" for 100% fresh raw milk processed into powder in a single step, thereby better ensuring product quality and safety and comprehensively leading the industry's fresh standards.
In recent years, through the implementation of the World Class Manufacturing (WCM) management system and the construction of smart factories, Feihe Dairy has achieved refined control over production processes and product quality. Its intelligent infant formula factory integrates the entire process from raw material procurement and manufacturing to laboratory testing and warehousing/logistics, with the project being selected for the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's Smart Manufacturing Project.
In 2018, Feihe Dairy first proposed the "More Suitable, Fresher" concept. Partnering with the China National Institute of Standardization, directly under the State Administration for Market Regulation, the company established the Feihe Fresh Milk Powder Standard System centered on "fresh raw milk processed into powder in a single step." This system defines fresh milk powder standards across six dimensions: milk source, formulation, feed, processing, storage/transportation, and traceability. The company also established the industry's first Academician Workstation for Dairy Engineering and was the first to introduce the WCM system to build world-class manufacturing plants and develop a leading "Intelligent Dairy Enterprise."
In March of this year, the new national standard for infant formula was issued, imposing higher quality requirements on domestic formula producers. The company again collaborated with the China National Institute of Standardization to take the lead in upgrading the entire industrial chain's fresh milk powder standard system, enhancing the fresh feed and fresh milk source standards on top of the original six dimensions. In just the past two years, Feihe Dairy has published 10 high-level academic papers and 4 specialized monographs, and applied for 13 patents in areas such as Chinese human milk research, quality milk engineering, and raw material and technology research.
In recent years, Feihe Dairy has integrated global R&D resources and attracted top-tier scientific experts to join its team. The R&D team has pioneered various technologies, formulations, and processes to enhance the suitability of its formula for Chinese babies' physiques, establishing Feihe as China's first infant formula brand to exceed 10 billion yuan in sales.
In January 2019, Feihe Dairy, in collaboration with the academician team led by Zhu Beiwei, established China's first Academician Workstation for Dairy Engineering, focusing on key raw materials for infant formula. In December of the same year, partnering with the Dairy Innovation Team of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, they co-founded the "Feihe Infant Formula Whole Industry Chain Innovation Center," marking the completion of the industry's first industry-academia-research collaboration centered on the entire industrial chain.
In November 2020, Feihe Dairy became the Vice Chairman unit of the School of Food Science and Technology at Jiangnan University. The two parties will engage in deep cooperation in the dairy sector, primarily involving talent cultivation and R&D initiatives, aiming to boost technological innovation capabilities in the infant formula field.
In 2020, leveraging its industry-leading scientific research strength and long-term R&D investment, Feihe Dairy was approved as a new unit to establish a Postdoctoral Research Workstation. In December of the same year, China Feihe partnered with Peking University Health Science Center to jointly establish the "Peking University Health Science Center - China Feihe Nutrition and Life Health Development Research Center." This center brings in top domestic and international experts to form a first-class R&D team, conducting nutrition and health research targeting the entire population and the full life cycle, based on the health development of the Chinese people throughout their lives.
In August 2021, the annual meeting of the Expert Committee of the Feihe Dairy Engineering Academician Workstation was held. During the event, Leng Youbin presented appointment certificates to 12 experts of the workstation, including Academician Zhu Beiwei.
Rooted in the golden dairy belt at 47° north latitude, the people of Feihe have innovated the industrial cluster development model, deeply cultivated research on Chinese human milk, and served the nation and its people with dedication. In 2020, the company upgraded the formula of its "Star Flying Sail" product and completed China's first clinical feeding trial for infant formula.
Striving brings happiness. Through scientific, rigorous, and innovative relentless effort, the people of Feihe are garnering increasing support and trust from consumers. In the first half of 2021, the company achieved revenue of 11.54 billion yuan. With a spirit of persistent service to the nation and decades of stringent quality control and high pursuit of excellence, Feihe Dairy has boosted consumer confidence in domestic infant formula, further driving the revitalization of the domestic奶粉 industry.
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