TOPIC

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.
Nestlé is embroiled in a global scare over the potential contamination of certain batches of baby milk formula. Photo: Sam Tsang
Hong Kong society

Nestlé Hong Kong recalls another baby milk formula batch as tests get all clear

Swiss food giant has added a batch of formula with best-before date of June 16, 2027, to its recall list.

Hong Kong healthcare and hospitals

Hong Kong pharmacies pull Nestle baby milk formula amid recall over toxin risk

Hong Kong healthcare and hospitals

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

Mainland China

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

Companies are shifting their focus to capitalise on opportunities presented by China’s ageing population. For some, the strategic pivot is starting to pay off.

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Senior citizens enjoyed coffee at a rehabilitation facility in Tianjin in 2023. Photo: Xinhua
China society

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

The authorities deal with scandals seriously, including the recent one involving cooking oil, but by then, it may be too late. Regulation and monitoring must be stepped up.

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Hong Kong

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.

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Indonesia

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

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Skintific uses local brand ambassadors like actor Nicholas Saputra in Indonesia. Photo: Aisyah Llewellyn
Australia

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.

China society

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.

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Hong Kong

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.

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Close to 80 per cent of women in Hong Kong start out breastfeeding but, after a year, less than a quarter still do. Photo: Shutterstock
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.

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A shelf empty of painkillers and cold and flu medicine in a Kowloon Bay shop on December 27. Some Hongkongers have been snapping up fever and pain-relief drugs for their relatives and friends over the border, which has caused shortages at some pharmacies. Photo: Edmond So
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.

United States

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.

United States

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.

Social media posts containing dangerous misinformation about home-made formula recipes have gone viral online as the United States faces a shortage. Photo: Zuma
Ukraine

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.

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US President Joe Biden delivers a speech during the state dinner hosted by South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol in Seoul on Saturday. Photo: EPA-EFE/Pool
Joe Biden

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.

China economy

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.

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China society

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.

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A steroid cream has been pulled from shelves in China after it caused a baby to develop a protruding, hairy forehead and cheeks and her weight to balloon.
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.

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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.

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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.

The Consumer Council says six of 15 types of pre-packaged infant formula products reviewed had discrepancies exceeding local food labelling guidelines.
Crime in China

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.

Protein drinks are unsuitable for babies because they do not provide the nutrients they require. Photo: AFP
China economy

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.

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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.

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.

Blockchain technology can help fill a vacuum in reliable information about product supply chains. Image: Shutterstock
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

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Foreign brands are seen as ‘way more trustworthy’ than domestic rivals and that is not likely to change soon, according to Dan Wang, of the Economic Intelligence Unit. Illustration: SCMP

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

IPO

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.

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