Baby Milk Rationing: Chinese Fears Spark Global Restrictions

Any food-safety crisis drives consumers to seek alternatives. A series of reports of contaminated infant formula since 2008 have driven Chinese mothers to look for foreign brands of infant formula – though after the Fukushima tsunami/nuclear disaster, the consumers quickly shifted from Japanese to US imports. Chinese consumers pay double the price for foreign brands. “Fearful of the dangerous levels of hormones and chemicals sometimes found in Chinese baby formula, parents in mainland China often go to great lengths to secure foreign brands,” reports Celia Hatton for the BBC News. The World Health Organization recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life, but long-term breastfeeding is described as rare in China. “The prospect of huge profits available to formula sellers in China has had a knock-on effect for retailers around the world,” triggering quotas on daily purchases of formula for all in Hong Kong, Britain and Australia, Hatton reports. As parents reject Chinese brands, China has been forced to improve food-safety monitoring. – YaleGlobal