Hong Kong Vendors Pull Similac Infant Formula Off Shelves After Warning From Food Safety Center
He Tianjiao
DATE:  Oct 23 2017
/ SOURCE:  Yicai
Hong Kong Vendors Pull Similac Infant Formula Off Shelves After Warning From Food Safety Center Hong Kong Vendors Pull Similac Infant Formula Off Shelves After Warning From Food Safety Center

(Yicai Global) Oct. 23 -- Hong Kong's Center for Food Safety and Food and Environmental Hygiene Department have called for milk powder vendors to stop selling batches of Abbott Nutrition's Similac Go and Grow infant formula milk powder for ages two and above after samples of the product failed to meet the values given on the nutritional information label.

The Center for Food Safety said the inferior batches are of 400-gram tins that originated in Ireland and expire on March 11, 2018.

The center sampled tins purchased from a sales outlet in Hong Kong's Causeway Bay as part of a spot check for food safety supervision. The results show that the nicotinic acid level in the samples was 1.3 micrograms per 100 grams, or less than half of the 3.8 micrograms published on the product's packaging.

"Product quality and safety is a top priority for Abbott," the firm told Yicai Global. "This incident is only related to a batch of milk powder selling in Hong Kong, and isn't related to other products. All products sold by Abbott in the mainland Chinese market conform to national food and safety regulations."

Authorities in Hong Kong have urged vendors to stop selling the batches in question so consumers don't need to worry about the issue. The food safety center has informed merchants of the problem and they have stopped selling the problem products, a spokesperson for the center said. It is investigating the matter further.

"Nicotinic acid is vitamin B3. Its main functions include helping infants improve their immunity and prevent skin allergies," Song Liang, a senior dairy industry analyst, told Yicai Global. "There won't be a big issue if normal infants are not exposed to milk powder with lower levels for a long period of time, so consumers needn't worry. Though the product in question wasn't providing as much of the vitamin as advertised, it isn't really a food safety incident."

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Keywords:   Infant Formula,Milk Powder,Abbott Nutrition,Similac,Hong Kong,Nicotinic Acid