New rule to shake up formula industry
Print Edition
China’s food and drug watchdog has unveiled a revised regulation that will significantly increase standards for domestic infant formula producers and lead to a shake-up of the country’s infant formula industry.
The revised regulation raises requirements for infant formula producers in nine areas, including safety control, purchase of raw materials, inspection, manufacturing processes and traceability.
The regulation was drafted with the participation of 30 experts and food and drug supervisors, the State Food and Drug Administration said.
In July, experts began revising the old regulation that was issued in November 2010. A draft new regulation was published on August 6 to solicit public opinion, and 8,970 opinions and suggestions were received.
To implement the new regulation, the administration said it will launch a nationwide campaign to review and examine production licenses currently held by infant formula producers.
The campaign will finish before May 31, it said.
Producers who fail to meet new requirements or fail to obtain new licenses during the campaign will be granted a grace period of two years to improve and rectify their manufacturing.
According to the new regulation, an infant formula producer should register its formula, packaging and labels with provincial food and drug administrations.
The regulation demands producers assume primary liability for product safety. They should also ensure the traceability of their products and establish and implement a product recall system.
The new regulation includes a series of sanitation and quality control standards similar to those in the pharmaceutical industry.
The administration asked provincial authorities to strictly enforce the new regulation and ensure smooth work in reviewing and examining licenses.
Chinese authorities have been making continuous efforts to restore consumer confidence in domestic dairy products after their reputation was seriously undermined by a melamine milk scandal in 2008.
In that incident, unscrupulous producers mixed melamine with dairy products to cheat protein content tests.
The practice caused the deaths of at least six Chinese babies and left another 300,000 ill.
Babies fed with melamine-tainted formula produced by the Sanlu Group and other major dairies were found to have developed kidney stones.
Besides Sanlu, another 21 domestic dairy companies were blacklisted, including several of the country’s largest, including Mengniu and Yili.
In June 2012, mercury was detected in batches of Yili products during a check of baby formula products.
Concerns about the safety of domestic milk powder have fueled Chinese parents’ demand for foreign-made formula, leading to bulk-buying in Hong Kong, Britain and other markets.
On May 31, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang chaired an executive meeting of the State Council and unveiled detailed plans aimed at improving the quality of domestic baby milk powder.
At the time, Li said that supervision of baby formula should be as strict as it is for medicine.
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