Customs drops charge against mainlander who carried baby cereal

Customs will withdraw a charge against a mainland woman who was initially thought to be flouting Hong Kong's new two-tin cap on taking powdered infant milk formula out of the city.

Earlier, the Customs and Excise Department admitted that four tins of baby cereal the Jiangsu resident, Huang Xuejiao, was carrying on her exit were not covered under the new laws.

Huang would get back her bail money of HK$1,000 and her seized goods, the department said yesterday.

In question was a product labelled "rice-based milk cereal" that bore packaging similar to that of infant formula.

"After in-depth understanding, with information provided by the supplier, it is understood that the product serves as infants' introduction to solid food. And it is porridge-like after preparation," the department said.

"So the product is not regulated under the [new law] … This is a special case."

Last week, Huang was carrying two tins of milk formula - the maximum allowed under the law - and four tins of the Friso-brand cereals as she crossed the border at Lok Ma Chau, she wrote in a weibo post.