Top Biz News

Baby food industry tainted by scandals

By Wang Wei (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-01-12 07:50

The safety of baby products tops the chart when it comes to parents' concerns, according to a survey conducted by consulting company Sinomonitor International Co Ltd.

The research released yesterday in a forum in Beijing shows that 47 percent of parents worry most about the quality of baby products. Some 35.6 percent said they believe companies often overstate the attributes of baby products in their commercials and 20.5 percent thought baby products were overpriced.

Lang Zhizheng, a consultant to the State Council who is also a professor in products quality, said people were worried about the reliability of China's baby products.

"The problem of baby products' safety is still very serious in China, especially after two recent cases," he said. "So, the government should strengthen the supervision and inspection of every phase of the production of baby products."

He said it is important for everyone to be vigilant and keep a close watch on the industry.

"Media and common people can also play a very important role when it comes to baby products supervision," he said. "If a case is found, they should immediately report it to relevant organizations."

China was rocked recently when the Shanghai Panda Dairy Co Ltd was found to have been selling dairy products tainted with the toxic chemical melamine.

Three of its executives were arrested at the end of 2009.

And baby clothes made in a factory in Guangdong province were found recently to contain materials that can cause cancer.

Ma Yu, the mother of a one-year-old girl, told METRO that she has gone to the trouble of buying milk powder from Australia because she no longer has any confidence in milk powders made in China.