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Baby formula

Baby formula

Baby, or infant, formula is a manufactured food for babies often used as a substitute for breast milk. It is a powder or liquid concentrate that is mixed with water and fed through a bottle. It is widely used in Asia, which represents 53% of the global market share. In Hong Kong, a shortage in availability of baby formula led to restrictions on how much could be taken out of the city and into mainland China.

Hong Kong Breast Milk Bank Director Dr Rosanna Wong has urged more mothers to become donors. Photo: ISD

Hong Kong healthcare and hospitals

‘Gift of life’: Hong Kong breast milk bank collects over 300 litres

More donations needed to reach aim of collecting 1,000 litres annually to help 450 to 600 premature and critically ill newborns.

24 Mar 2025 - 9:28AM

All that silver is turning into gold in China’s ageing society

4 Sep 2024 - 8:26AMvideocam

Opinion | China food safety: consumer vigilance can’t make up for weak regulation

20 Jul 2024 - 10:25AMvideocam

Editorial | Hong Kong breast milk bank is best for everyone

First city collection facility set for launch next year will help babies facing serious health problems and mothers struggling to supply.

25 May 2024 - 6:30AM

Hong Kong will launch its first breast milk bank by the first quarter of next year. Photo: SCMP Pictures

Are Chinese-made skincare brands downplaying their origins to appeal to Muslims?

Consumers in Indonesia and Malaysia expressed concerns about whether the Chinese-made products meet halal certification standards

5 May 2024 - 2:00PMvideocam

Daigou: Australia’s Chinese personal shoppers rebrand to stay relevant

Daigou, or personal shoppers for mainland Chinese consumers, used to account for billions of dollars of products sold by Australian businesses.

27 Apr 2024 - 12:00PM

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Opinion | China wants to raise birth rate, but has missed new mothers’ every need

China has been taking measures to encourage couples to have children, offering incentives ranging from cash to homebuyer subsidies. However, there is not enough information on what to expect and how to raise a child, not much community help and the ‘birth reward’ doesn’t go very far.

24 Nov 2023 - 3:50AMvideocam

A baby being given a health check by a nurse in Anhui, China on January 17. Photo: Getty Images

Opinion | Hong Kong must do much more so working mums can keep breastfeeding

Even in the government-funded Cyberport, there is not a single nursing room. From maternity, paternity and childcare leave, to workplace support, Hong Kong must realise it takes all of society to raise a breastfed child.

30 Jul 2023 - 6:15AMvideocam

Coronavirus Hong Kong

Opinion | Don’t let old mainland frictions haunt Hong Kong’s new normal

Unhappiness about painkillers being sent to the mainland amid a local shortage and mainlanders looking for vaccines in Hong Kong risk raising cross-border distrust. The government must defuse these tensions quickly.

2 Jan 2023 - 8:15AM

China food safety

Chinese food firm Maiquer under investigation over milk additive

Market regulator says food solvent propylene glycol was found in batches of milk in Zhejiang.

3 Jul 2022 - 7:05PM

China’s market regulator says an unauthorised additive was found in a number of batches of Maiquer pure milk. Photo: Handout

US baby milk formula flight from Europe

A flight from Switzerland will arrive in Indianapolis on Sunday with132 pallets of Nestlé baby formula; the first load is expected to provide as many as 1.5 million bottles.

22 May 2022 - 7:06AM

A first air shipment of baby milk formula will be delivered to the US on Sunday under an emergency programme. Photo: Shutterstock

Dangerous DIY baby milk formula recipes in US go viral

Solutions to the national shortage are being sought on the internet, but medical experts say home-made versions come with serious health risks; Facebook, TikTok and YouTube have been inconsistent in dealing with the issue.

22 May 2022 - 2:18AM

Biden signs US$40 billion bill for Ukraine assistance during Asia trip

The funding is intended to support Ukraine through September, and it dwarfs an earlier emergency measure that provided US$13.6 billion in assistance.

21 May 2022 - 9:28PM

America’s baby formula shortage is a new headache for the White House

The White House raced to show it’s trying to ease a national baby milk formula shortage that has left frantic parents scouring store shelves to feed their children.

13 May 2022 - 11:24AM

Empty shelves show a shortage of baby formula at a CVS store in San Antonio, Texas. Photo: Reuters

Got milk? China’s health-conscious consumers push imports to ‘major milestones’

The average consumer in China drank five times as much milk last year than in 2012, as liquid milk sales from New Zealand, the European Union and Australia boomed last year.

27 Feb 2021 - 6:08AMvideocam

China’s strong demand for overseas-made infant formula started in 2008 after the so-called melamine scandal, when 300,000 children were poisoned after drinking contaminated products. Photo: Bloomberg

Steroid cream used to treat baby’s eczema gives her hairy cheeks

Parents in China who used a cream for their baby’s eczema were horrified to see her develop a protruding, hairy forehead and cheeks and her weight shoot up. A test showed the cream contained a powerful steroid.

18 Jan 2021 - 4:15AM

China food safety

Chinese start-up builds trust in organic foods with blockchain

OrgHive is helping companies market their organic food products to Chinese consumers by building their trust in these brands.

4 Jan 2021 - 11:54AMvideocam

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Mergers & Acquisitions

China’s baby milk giant offers US$400 million to take over supplier

China Feihe has bought fresh milk from YuanShengTai to produce its baby milk formula products since 2010, and now is offering to buy all shares of the farming company.

7 Sep 2020 - 10:11PMvideocam

Calves, with identification tags, wear vests to keep warm in one of Feihe’s facilities in Heilongjiang, China. Photo: Tom Wang

Consumer protection in Hong Kong

Nutritional value in some baby milk formulas overstated: watchdog

Consumer Council finds discrepancies in six of 15 samples reviewed, but manufacturers say this is down to different tests and standards.

17 Aug 2020 - 10:58PM

Chinese doctor fired for telling parents to give babies protein drink

Hospital in Guangdong province says none of the babies given the over-the-counter product have shown any ill effects so far.

9 Aug 2020 - 10:51PM

Questions over China protein milk powder imports from Australia, New Zealand

Chinese demand for lactoferrin and whey powder products from Australia and New Zealand has increased dramatically since the coronavirus outbreak.

19 Jun 2020 - 12:43PMvideocam

Exports of Australian whey protein milk powder to China tripled in March from February to more than 1,000 tonnes, according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics collected by industry group Dairy Australia. Photo: Shutterstock

China food safety

China investigates claims babies sickened by fake milk formula

At least five children reportedly developed swollen heads after being fed a protein drink allegedly sold as suitable for babies.

14 May 2020 - 8:24AM

Parents of five children claim they were told a protein drink was suitable for their young children. Photo: Weibo

Coronavirus pandemic

Opinion | Look to blockchain, not brands, to indicate product safety and quality

Chinese consumers often depend on brand recognition as an indicator of product quality and safety, but blockchain can provide more reliable information on product supply chains, benefiting both consumers and manufacturers.

27 Feb 2020 - 6:07AM

Health in China

Parents haunted by China’s melamine baby milk scandal still favour foreign brands

The tragedy that rocked China’s infant milk formula industry 12 years ago destroyed many parents’ faith in domestic brands, paving the way for foreign companies to charge ahead

14 May 2020 - 8:26AMvideocam

Video | Inside Feihe: China’s largest baby formula company

22 Feb 2020 - 7:41AM

How Feihe survived the 2008 tainted milk scandal and became China's largest baby formula company

Baby milk maker endorsed by film star Zhang Ziyi suspends shares

A report by GMT Research advised investors to avoid the stock because the company hadn’t paid a dividend in the five years before IPO.

22 Nov 2019 - 10:27PMvideocam

Actress Zhang Ziyi in China Feihe promotional material. Photo: zz-infos.com

China’s bestselling baby milk maker likely get solid bids in retail IPO

China Feihe, maker of the nation’s best-selling infant milk formula, probably attracted close to HK$10 billion of orders from retail investors in what could be the third largest IPO in Hong Kong this year, according to a survey of stockbrokers.

5 Nov 2019 - 10:59PM

Nations must show investment sense

As China seeks to diversify assets and ensure security of supply, especially for food, it faces thorough scrutiny from countries suspicious of its intentions.

10 Oct 2019 - 12:39AM

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