Beijing pharmacies to handle all infant formula sales

The Beijing Food and Drug Administration said the city will gradually make pharmacies the only channel permitted to sell infant formula, Beijing Daily reported on Wednesday.

Zhang Zhikuan, director of the administration, made the remarks when reporting to the city's People's Congress on Tuesday.

There are 1,957 supermarkets and convenient stores that sell infant formula in Beijing, while only 207 of more than 5,300 pharmacies in the city sell the formula, Zhang said.

He said the city plans to shift the sales of all infant formula products to pharmacies, in order to enforce stricter control on the safety of the products.

The China Food and Drug Administration is reviewing the list of qualified products of infant formula, and Beijing will guarantee that all of the infant formula sold in pharmacies are on the updated list, Zhang said.