Recently, organic baby milk powder stage II (3.9 tons) and stage III (5.9 tons), from an Australia organic baby food supplier, Bellamy’s Organic, were rejected by Shanghai CIQ for containing L-cysteine, a dietary supplement, which however is not permitted under Chinese national standards.
Shanghai CIQ also destroyed at port 79.2 tons of infant formula of New Zealand origin, found to contain two illegal substances, 5'-Inosine monophosphate and 5'-Guanosine monophosphate.
The three substances mentioned above are not included in the three important national standards, GB 10765-2010 Infant formula, GB 10767-2010 Older infants and young children formula& GB 14880 Food Nortification Substances. As for nucleotides, it is regulated in GB 14880, which shows that nucleotides can be added in infant formula and older infants and young children formula. Moreover, the sources of nucleotides include 5’ cytidine monophosphate (5'-CMP), 5’ uridine monophosphate (5'-UMP), 5’ Adenosine monophosphate(5'-AMP), Disodium Inosine-5′-Monophosphate , Disodium Guanosine 5' monophosphate, Disodium uridine-5'-monophosphate, Disodium Cytidine-5monohposphate, while 5'-Inosine monophosphate and 5'-Guanosine monophosphate are not included, thus they are prohibited for use in baby milk powders in China. The regulatory action highlights the need for a comprehensive knowledge of Chinese regulations prior to entering the Chinese market. Overseas manufacturers and exporters of baby formula are recommended to fully understand all requirements in related national standards and to ensure formulae comply with all aspects of these standards.
From Jan to Oct this year, over 250 tons of milk powder were deemed substandard by local CIQs and subsequently destroyed or rejected. Possible reasons include unqualified labels, lack of required documentation as well as unsatisfactory coliform counts or levels of chromium, zinc, iron, nitrite, lauric acid, myristic acid, copper, selenium, protein and sodium. Click here to see the list of milk powders failing to clear Chinese customs between Jan and Oct 2013.
In an exclusive interview a CIQ official told ChemLinked that the regulatory requirements for importation of baby milk powder products are particularly inflexible and regulatory enforcement particularly strict. The official went on to outline that imported products should be formulated in strict compliance with Chinese dairy regulations and standards.
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