Government Tightens Rules on Unruly Baby-Formula Market.docVIP

Government Tightens Rules on Unruly Baby-Formula Market 　　Shopping for baby-milk powder at a Chinese super- market can require considerable effort when the aisle with infant formula is jam-packed with a bewildering array of products. 　　The country has about 2，000 infant formulas， produced by more than 100 companies. 　　Now the China Food and Drug Administration （CFDA） is trying to consolidate and help tame the unruly market with a new set of regulations. 　　Under rules that go into effect Oct. 1， every infantformula manufacturer ― domestic and foreign ― must register each of their products with the CFDA and produce no more than nine formulas under up to three brands. If a company produces more than one formula for an age group， it is required to explain the difference between the two products. 　　The companies also must clarify where the ingredients were sourced， instead of using vague language such as sourced from overseas pastures， as is now common. 　　Businesses are also banned from suggesting that their products could treat diseases， enhance intelligence or boost the immune system. 　　China’s baby-milk-powder market has nearly doubled in the past five years and will reach about 97 billion yuan （$14.5 billion） by the end of this year， according to internet data provider Analysys. But one side effect has been an overflow of infant formulas in the market， in the words of the food regulator. 　　Many domestic companies adopt a multibranding strategy to manufacture a variety of similar products based on just one recipe， the CFDA said in June. Although no recent scandal has been linked to the proliferation of brands， a market with an excess of products bears food-safety risks and makes it difficult for consumers to make a choice， the regulator added. 　　In the past， the country’s infant formula industry has been beset by a string of food safety scandals. The worst came in 2008， when six children died and hundreds of thousands of others were sickened after drinkin