Mums and dads, please be warned. News has emerged that as many as 210 boxes of (suspected) fake infant formula have been seized in Malaysia.
Fake formula milk seized
According to Channel NewsAsia, the raids happened in Johor Baru and the suspected fake infant formula was seized from Chinese medical shops and convenience stores at 5 different locations – Iskandar Puteri, Taman Mutiara Rini, Taman Orkid, Taman Daya and Taman Nusa Bestari.
The seized boxes were reported to be worth about RM42,000 (S$14,000).
The raids happened under the supervision of The Johor Domestic Trade and Consumerism Ministry and it’s Director Khairul Anwar Bachok has been quoted as saying, “The fake infant formula boxes were placed together with the original ones on the shelves and sold at the same price as the original ones at about RM 200 each.”
PHOTO: SCREENGRAB CHANNEL NEWSASIA
“The operations were conducted together with the manufacturer of the baby milk powder following a report received by the company.”
Apparently, “A baby suffered severe vomiting after taking an infant formula which was later found to be fake by the producers.”
The owner of the stores claims he was unaware that the 1.8 kg boxes of formula milk he sold at his 5 outlets were fake.
It was also discovered that the invoice for the purchase of the infant formula bore the name of a false company and a false address. Hence, authorities have made plans to intensify such raids in other districts too.
Meanwhile, samples from the seized infant formula will soon be tested by the Chemistry Department to check if it’s original or fake.
Dangers of drinking fake formula milk are many. Not only is the baby likely to fall sick, he/she may also suffer from severe malnutrition on drinking the fake formula with no nutritional value.
Remember the China fake formula milk scandal many years back? Dozens of babies had died, and many others were reported sick after drinking fake formula, that had just 1/100th of the standard protein content and almost 0 % of important minerals like iron and zinc.
We hope authorities are successful in their latest crackdown on fake formula milk.
(Source: Channel NewsAsia, The Star Online)