A TV news programme has sparked controversy by claiming that Singaporeans are snapping up Australian-made baby formula like crazy, leading to baby formula shortage in Australia.
“We shouldn’t have to fight to feed our babies. It’s just not fair”, an Australian mum is seen saying in a trailer for the show, ‘A Current Affair’.
Australian news programme blames Singaporeans for baby formula shortage in Australia
A snippet of the episode on Facebook shows a reporter at a baby expo in Singapore, claiming that Australian-made baby formula, Nature One, was “the star attraction of the event”.
He then goes on to say that if the can had an ‘Australian made” logo on it, “it may as well contain powdered gold”!
Mothers in Singapore apparently, “cannot get enough of it”.
“But that obsession here in Asia for our products is coming at a cost for Australian mums.”
To support the above theory a depressed Australian mum is shown saying, “That makes me really angry. I don’t understand how they’re getting all our formula.”
“We shouldn’t have to fight to feed our babies. It’s just not fair.”
Wait. What?
Singaporeans react. Not so kindly
Not surprisingly, Singaporeans have reacted strongly to the claims in the video.
Many were amused by the claims that the Australian brand was the main attraction of the baby expo.
“People do not go to the baby fair just for milk powder, or YOUR MILK POWDER. We also browse for necessities like milk bottles, prams and cots”, wrote one netizen.
Others expressed doubts about whether the brand was even popular in Singapore. For the info, Nature One was launched in Singapore by Sheng Siong supermarket chain in Aug 2017, as a low cost formula milk option.
“Honestly there are so many varieties in Singapore that I don’t even fancy looking at that brand. Please. Get your facts clear before you report”, one user commented.
“I have never heard of this brand as there are MANY formula brands to choose from in Singapore”, wrote another.
The big question however, is whether the people behind the programme got confused between Singapore and China!
Did they mix up Singapore and China?
In an interesting twist to the story, the Aussie mum in the video has apparently said that she was misquoted in the program, and that, she was actually talking about China!
There has been huge demand for safe, good quality baby formula in China, ever since the formula milk scandal in 2008, when melamine-laced formula killed six infants and made 300,000 babies sick.
Last year, an investigation uncovered Chinese shoppers buying Australian formula milk in bulk, in an apparent bid to ship it back home.
As one netizen puts it, “Singapore is not China”.
Mums and dads, which formula milk brand do you prefer for your little ones? Let us know in our poll!
Also READ: Formula milk cost comparison in Singapore – the complete list!