Papers flay regulator for not publicising baby formula tampering
Papers slam fiddling with Swiss product but also flay watchdogs for failing to publicise the case
News on Thursday that a Swiss-owned brand of baby formula was being pulled from shop shelves in Shanghai following allegations that one of its mainland distributers had mixed the imported formula with out-of-date product came as a bombshell for mainland parents, already frustrated and angry after numerous food safety scandals.
Xile Lier, which distributes Hero Nutradefense infant formula in nearby Suzhou, Jiangsu province, was accused late last year by the city's quality inspection authorities of changing sell-by dates on packaging, mixing products and relabeling formula for older babies as more expensive milk for younger children.
Authorities ordered the distributor's production line stopped but the product continued to be sold in shops until last week.
An editorial carried by The Beijing News said the recall of 1.3 tonnes of Nutradefense came like "thunderbolt" to mainland parents, many of whom switched to foreign brands of baby formula on the assumption that they were safe after the melamine-tainted-milk scandal of September 2008. Domestic brands including Sanlu, Mengniu and Yili were found to have used the adulterated milk in their infant products. Six children died and more than 300,000 were made ill.
Official assurances that 99 per cent of baby formula is up to standard have failed to deter mainland mothers from buying foreign brands.
Some mothers, not satisfied with domestically produced foreign brands, pay a premium for infant formula produced overseas, such as Hero Nutradefense, which is made in the Netherlands. Others travel to Hong Kong, Europe and the US to make their purchases.
"Producing substandard baby formula not only deceives parents but puts young children at risk," The Beijing News said. "It's high time manufacturers were punished and consumers compensated."