Close to 224 formulas by 32 milk powder companies have been approved by China’s top food safety agency, Yicai.com reported, citing a spokesperson from the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA).
Ma Rongxiang, a deputy director at the CFDA, said that the agency would approve about 1,000 formulas, meaning that more than 800 formulas are pending approval, the report said.
According to statistics from the CFDA cited in the report, there are 108 companies manufacturing infant milk powder in China, with Heilongjiang, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia and Hebei accounting for 57% of the more than 2,300 different formulas. Foreign companies make up 77 of the latter, the report said.
The registration of milk powder formulas also meant that China is changing its approach to managing the milk powder industry to restore consumer confidence.
The registration means more attention will be given to the formulas, and “higher quality formulas” will become the focus of consumers in future, according to a representative from Mead Johnson China interviewed by Yicai.