Type the Chinese version of "first drop of milk" into an Internet search engine and you're likely to find numerous articles about bribery scandals in which foreign infant formula companies have been accused of paying cash or offering gifts in exchange for brand recommendations to parents.

A report by China Central Television in September, the first to expose the issue, revealed that a hospital in Tianjin fed all newborn babies with infant formula, irrespective of whether the mothers produced breast milk or not.

A medical expert was quoted as saying that once a baby is given a particular brand of milk powder it is extremely hard to switch to another brand or to breast milk. The comments were used to explain why formula providers place so much emphasis on reaching the babies early in their lives.