Want China Times, Staff Reporter, 2014-04-03
A woman shops for infant formula at a Jinxiang Pharmacy branch in Beijing, Oct. 26, 2013. (Photo/Xinhua) |
Labeling
information in Chinese characters for imported baby formula must be printed on
packaging on arrival in China or it will not be allowed to enter the country
starting April 1, the country's General Administration of Quality Supervision,
Inspection and Quarantine has announced.
Products
that don't have Chinese printed on their packaging or do not meet the labeling
standards set by the Chinese authorities will henceforth be returned to the
origin of shipment or destroyed.
New
regulations on milk powder, considered the most severe of their kind in
history, have taken effect.
Chen Fang,
a dairy industry analyst, said some Chinese translation on stickers currently
placed over the original labels is inaccurate and that stickers had ended up
blocking important information printed in the original language.
Many
vendors have taken advantage of this to deliberately tamper with the date of
expiration on the products, Chen added.
Starting on
May 1, 2014, new regulations will ban such imports from overseas brands of
infant formula which are not registered in China. Formula which is due to
expire less than three months after its arrival in China will not be allowed to
enter.
Overseas
milk powder brands are also required to be packed in the smaller packages for
retailers before being imported, the new directions stipulate.
Noted
overseas dairy brands, such as Nestle, Mead Johnson, Abbott and Dumex, started
labeling their milk powder in Chinese on Wednesday. The labels include
information on country of origin, ingredients, nutritional information, methods
of storage, importer information and address of the production location.
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