The Global Times contacted two leading domestic baby formula companies on Tuesday. Both declined to comment on the proposed law.
Danone Dairy China, a subsidiary of a French food company, which has several baby formula brands, is "studying on the details of the draft law," the company representative Lan Bei said in a note e-mailed to the Global Times on Tuesday.
Misleading claims
The new law also includes rules about the marketing claims that companies can make about baby formula products.
For example, companies must "clearly state" where imported ingredients were produced, rather than use ambiguous language such as "from overseas pastures."
In addition, manufacturers can't employ language that hints at therapeutic benefits of their products.
The packaging of many baby formula products employs language that emphasizes their therapeutic functions.
The packaging of one product, for example, reads "for smart brains, healthy bones and intestines."
Much of the product information provided by baby formula companies is misleading, but the draft law will ensure consumers get true information about the products, Wang Dingmian, a former official with the Dairy Association of China, was quoted as saying by the Beijing Times on Monday.
Song, however, cautioned that those regulations might discourage companies from adding any costly ingredients that increase a product's nutritional value.
"If they can't advertise those special ingredients, why should they consider using them in the products?" Song asked.
Song suggested that companies should be allowed to print the health benefits of their product's ingredients on the packaging, as long as it is not used for marketing purposes.
Same standards
Experts have also pointed out the draft law only targets at baby formula products that are manufactured in China, but the government should also take measures to supervise all such products that are sold in China.
According to the Beijing Times report, more and more Chinese companies have set up manufacturing plants overseas to produce baby formula for the domestic market.
For example, of the 200 baby formula brands in China that are imported from New Zealand, only a few are "genuine" local brands, the Beijing Times reported.
The proportion of baby formula products sold in China that are manufactured overseas has risen in recent years, according to Shao Qiong, a dairy industry analyst in Beijing.
"China will only achieve a standardized baby formula market if imported products fall under the same regulatory framework as one produced domestically," Shao told the Global Times on Tuesday.
To strengthen management over imported baby formula products, the Chinese government should set up a cross-border consumer reporting system, according to Song.
"Chinese consumers should be able to report any unqualified products to relevant overseas departments," Song said, adding that the Chinese -government could compile a "blacklist" of unqualified overseas baby formula brands and release it to the public.
