Chinese retailers pull suspect Hero baby formula from shelves

Retailers started pulling a brand of imported baby formula off shelves yesterday after a media report revealed that the Chinese distributor had repackaged the product in China and mixed it with expired milk powder.

The news came as a shock to parents who have been favouring imported baby formula after food-safety scandals that have plagued the dairy industry since 2008, when melamine-tainted milk killed six children and sickened more than 300,000 others. The owner of the Chinese sub-distributor, Mou Jun, was also detained last night.

However, questions lingered yesterday as to why action was not taken sooner to remove the product from shelves, as both CCTV and authorities in Suzhou , Jiangsu , apparently knew about the scandal months ago. In November, the only authorised Chinese dealer of Hero's Nutradefense, in Suzhou, was shut down and its legal representative was detained pending criminal charges for illegally processing the formula.

The dealer was the Xile Lier Import and Export Co, and it was the only company authorised by Hero Group to distribute the product on the mainland.

The CCTV report said the Chinese dealer was suspected of putting new expiration dates on older products before repackaging them with a Chinese label. Xile Lier was also suspected by authorities of mixing imported milk powder with expired powder and then replacing the production and expiration dates.