China makes abrupt U-turn over infant formula imports
Government departments forced to backtrack when it was realised that new regulations were still being drawn up by the food administration
A week after introducing controversial restrictions on infant formula imported by online retailers, mainland authorities have made a U-turn in the face of mounting industry pressure – and after realising legislation was incomplete.
A list limiting what cross-border e-commerce companies could sell, released last Thursday by 11 departments led by the Ministry of Finance, banned imports of infant formula that had not been registered with authorities.
However, it turned out the food administration was still working on regulations about registration procedures, the ministry admitted on its website late on Wednesday.
China’s new baby milk scandal to trigger tighter cross-border e-commerce rules
As a result, e-commerce importers of formula will not need permits issued by the government until January 2018, when the new rules are expected to be enforced, it said.
Following endless food scandals, Chinese consumers’ growing demand for foreign goods has generated annual growth of up to 40 per cent for e-commerce imports in recent years.
Infant formula has been one of the most sought-after products since public confidence was rocked by the melamine milk contamination scandal in 2008.
The China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) in September released draft rules covering imported formula. These included a requirement that all manufacturers register the composition of their formula, but this has yet to be enforced.