EU Tightens Import Rules on Chinese Baby Formula Ingredient After Recalls

Since December, major producers including Nestlé, Lactalis and Danone have recalled infant formula in 60 countries after tests detected cereulide, a toxin produced by bacterium Bacillus cereus, that can cause gastrointestinal illness, particularly in infants who are more prone to dehydration. French authorities are investigating the deaths of two infants suspected to be linked to contaminated milk.

The EU's food safety watchdog European Food Safety Authority set a recommended maximum safe daily intake for cereulide for infants earlier this month.

In its assessment, EFSA proposed a new limit of 0.014 micrograms per kilogram of body weight for infants. The agency said infant babies process substances in a different manner and require extra protection, according to multiple reports. Vomiting was determined as the key short-term symptom used to determine the threshold.

From Thursday, shipments must undergo checks at EU border control posts and be accompanied by laboratory results and certification confirming the absence of the toxin, the Commission said.

Chinese companies have been recently in the limelight for poor worker conditions. A New York-based labour rights group said it uncovered evidence of worker exploitation at a factory of Chinese toy company Pop Mart forcing employees to sign blank cheques and work overtime.

The report cited "16- and 17-year-olds being employed without the special protections for young workers required by Chinese law, inadequate health and safety training and other labour rights violations."

The factory supplies Labubus, from the popular "the Monsters" toy line made by Pop Mart.

The 16- to 18-year-old workers at Shunjia had been assigned to standard assembly line positions with no difference in workload or production targets to adult workers, the report said.

- IANS