Government mulls the meaning of 'milk powder' in the two-tin ban

The definition of milk powder can be amended to fine-tune a ban against the unlicensed export of infant formula, health authorities say.

The proposal comes after the administration apologised last week for the wrongful arrests of 12 mainland visitors who were carrying rice-based baby cereal across the border.

Legislators say the new definition may deviate from the law's original purpose, affecting items that are not targeted, such as milk for adults and beverages like Horlicks.

The current definition under the ban covers "all substances in powder form that are or appear to be for consumption by a person aged under 36 months, and are or appear to be milk or milk-like substances in powder form to satisfy wholly or partly the nutritional requirement of a child".

The Food and Health Bureau proposed removing the words "appear to be". But this would effectively ban almost all forms of milk powder, as most claim to be suitable for anyone above the age of two, lawmakers say.

"From the perspective of paediatrics, there is a difference only between milk for children under the age of one and those over that age," medical-sector lawmaker Leung Ka-lau said. "Children over two years old can drink adult milk."