The Consumer Council has expressed concern over the lack of adequate information, in Chinese or English, on the labels of some imported infant milk powder.
It seems that the importers have not taken the effort to translate fully the labels on these imported infant formulas for information of the consumers in the Hong Kong market.
The information that does appear on the labels is sketchy, disclosing only information that is required by the law.
The situation is one of concern as more parents opt for imported infant milk powder these days in the wake of the melamine scare.
The Council has examined 9 samples of imported infant formulae and found the list of ingredient was incomplete on the labels of 3 samples.
The Council has referred these findings to the Centre for Food Safety which has subsequently issued warning letters to the retailers concerned for rectifying the labels.
The Council considers adequate labelling information, in Chinese or English, to be important as such information is crucial to the consumers' choice, usage and storage of infant formulae.
The International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes formulated by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) also requires the labels to remind the parents that it is only when the mother cannot breastfeed the baby, and by recommendation and with instructions from health care professionals, that infant formulae should be used.
The correct method of preparation and consumption must also be clearly labeled and followed.
The Code also urges the suppliers not to market the formulae by idealizing the use of infant formulae and promote them as a good substitute of mother's milk, in order to discourage breastfeeding.
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