In a bid to tighten its regulatory control on the supply of infant formula in China, the Chinese Food & Drug Administration (CFDA) has set restrictions on the number of product lines baby powder manufacturers can sell in the country.

Under the new rules, manufacturers will be restricted to offering just three infant formula product lines to Chinese consumers, with a maximum of three stages per product line.

Chinese authorities say the new regulations are aimed at reining in the explosion of infant formula products available for sale in China, particularly from online platforms.

New regulatiosns

Along with this, all manufacturers must now be registered and approved by Chinese import authorities before they can gain access to the market.

The CFDA are also introducing new regulations to tighten labelling requirements for infant formula products. General terms such as “sourced from imported milk/ milk powder” will no longer be allowed and country of origin must now be stated on containers.

In 2015, Irish exports of infant formula to China grew by 25% to reach €400m.