May 13, 2016

Safe infant formula a priority, says China

The Chinese government said it would prioritise infant formula, including imported products, in its action to improve food safety, the state-owned Xinhua News Agency reported.

A document issued by the Chinese State Council on Wednesday, May 11, stated that infant formula and supplementary food are among the commodities that would be under close watch this year, adding that inspection of recipes of baby milk powders registered by manufacturers would be tightened and malpractices exposed.

Chinese consumers have become wary of food safety since 2008 when infant formula produced by leading domestic dairy firm Sanlu Group was found to contain melamine, which caused the death of six babies and the illness of thousands of others. A year later, China enacted a food safety law.

Last month, nine people were arrested for alleged involvement in the production and sale of fake baby formula under the brands "Similac" and "Beingmate". Police seized around 1,000 cans of milk powder, over 20,000 empty cans and 65,000 fake trademarks, according to Xinhua.

Last year, China amended the 2009 food safety law to further boost consumer confidence in the domestic dairy industry. The amended law prohibits infant formula manufacturers to use one formulation to produce multiple products. It also requires them to register the milk formula with the food and drug regulator; in the unamended law, the firms only needed to ensure that their formulas were on record.  --Rick Alberto