June 24, 2016

China issues provisions for infant formula registration

The China Food and Drug Administration has issued new provisions for infant formula registration, which will take effect on Oct. 1.

The provisions, required by the revised Food Safety Law, include 49 articles in six chapters, according to the China FDA.

The FDA said the formula registration management of infant formula milk powder would further urge manufacturers to scientifically develop and design product formulas and improve their R&D, production and inspection capacities to ensure the quality and safety of their products.

Last month, the Chinese State Council reiterated that infant formula and supplementary food were among the commodities that would be under close watch this year and that inspection of recipes of baby milk powders registered by manufacturers would be tightened and malpractices exposed.

There is a continuing effort of the Chinese government to restore consumer confidence, which was eroded during the food scare following the deaths of six babies and illnesses of thousands of others in 2008. They had been fed with infant formula produced by leading domestic dairy firm Sanlu Group, which was found to contain melamine. A year later, China enacted a food safety law, which was amended last year to further boost consumer confidence in the domestic dairy industry.-Rick Alberto