Banned substance in baby formula lands Abbott hefty fine

Abbott Shanghai has been fined 9.09 million yuan (US$1.41 million) after a banned flavoring essence was found in its baby formula.

Some of the company's Similac baby formula for infants less than 6 months old contained 171.6 micrograms of vanillin per kilogram, inspectors of China's top market watchdog found when making sample tests in Ningbo, neighboring Zhejiang Province, late last year.

Flavoring essence is banned in formula for babies less than 6 months old, according to China's standards for food additives.

The substandard baby formula was imported and sold by Abbott.

More than 45,000 tins of the baby formula have been imported, of which more than 44,000 have been sold. Abbott said it has launched a recall, and more than 15,500 tins have been recalled so far.

The company had illegal profits totaling 3.437 million yuan confiscated by the Shanghai Administration for Market Regulation along with the fine.

Abbott was fined more than 2 million yuan in October and December of 2020 by Shanghai's market regulators for violating China's advertisement law.