The Ministry of Health (MOH) on Wednesday recalled a batch of
baby formula, "Xiang Xue Hai" with batch number 20050112, found to
be of hazardously low nutritional value. Stores have been ordered
to stop sales of the product immediately.
Parents have also been advised to stop feeding the formula to
their children, and to discard any remaining formula.
The formula is produced by Xiang Xue Hai Dairy Limited Company
from Baotou,
Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
"The infant formula is hazardously low in protein, fat, vitamin
A, calcium, iron and zinc," the MOH said.
Ministry inspectors recently discovered that the inferior
formula was being sold in China's rural markets despite a previous
crackdown on substandard infant formula in 2004. Numerous reports
of malnourished infants were made in 2004 mainly in
Anhui and
Jiangsu Provinces.
The ministry said anyone who continues to sell the product will
be punished.
Earlier this year, a wholesaler and a retailer of low quality
infant formula were tried in a district court in Changsha,
Hunan Province. They were charged with selling the "Zheng Meng"
brand of baby formula despite a ban by the local administration.
Many infants were reported to have suffered malnutrition as a
result, which has reportedly affected their mental development.
In December 2005, two people were sentenced to five to seven
years in prison for producing the inferior "Lizichun" brand of baby
formula. It was determined that the formula had caused the death of
one baby.
The director of the milk powder factory, surnamed Li, was given
a seven-year sentence and fined 500,000 yuan (US$61,700), and the
deputy director in charge of technical affairs, surnamed Liu, was
sentenced to three years in prison with a five-year reprieve.
Between 2002 and 2004, Li and Liu produced the "Lizichun"
formula in spite of knowing that it did not meet national
standards.
(Xinhua News Agency February 17, 2006)