Baby formula sales to be shifted to pharmacies

China's dairy industry suffered a crisis of confidence in 2008, when milk powder produced by Sanlu Group was found to contain the toxic chemical melamine, which had been added to boost the apparent protein content. Six children died from drinking the milk, and at least 300,000 others became ill.

Baby formula in China can be found in supermarkets, specialized shops and on the Internet. In many Western countries, meanwhile, formula products are mostly found in pharmacies because the global companies producing them often have a history as producers of medicines, experts said.

"Major companies like Abbott Laboratories and Mead Johnson, based in the United States, were drugmakers at first and expanded their business into the baby formula sector. They utilized their original sales networks, which established the tradition of selling baby formula in pharmacies," Wang said.

He doubts the appropriateness of storing infant formula in pharmacies, as most cans of infant formula are not 100 percent air-proof.

"Milk powder has a strong ability to absorb other substances. The smell released by traditional Chinese medicines and Western medicines in the storage might alter the flavor of infant formula and accelerate its deterioration," he said.

A director of a dairy company that registers and imports milk products from New Zealand said his business previously tried to cooperate with several pharmacies but failed because they demanded large one-off fees to place new products on their shelves. Supermarkets also charged such a fee, he said, but not nearly so large as pharmacies. He declined to be named.

To further boost confidence in the industry, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology plans to merge or shut down a large number of mainland dairies that make baby formula. The number will plunge from the current 128 to 50 by the end of 2018, China National Radio reported on Sunday.

"It's hard to achieve a high production standard when we have many scattered businesses," said the ministry's spokesman Zhu Hongren.