The Audit Commission has found government efforts in many areas of food safety enforcement have fallen short, with lax regulation and enforcement of label requirements for stating nutritional facts particularly prominent.

The government departments concerned should expand coverage of the law and regulations and step up enforcement. They should put baby formula on the list of regulated foods and carry out more testing of samples, followed up with public disclosure of the results. At the same time the authorities should guide "high-risk" small and medium enterprises in their efforts to abide by laws and regulations so as to reduce any confusion in business operations.

The government implemented a regulation last year that requires clear labeling of nutritional facts on all pre-packed foods. Baby formulas for infants three years of age or younger were not included, leaving those products to the producers' self-policing. Unfortunately, some advertisements for baby formulas are suspected of making unsubstantiated claims capable of misleading consumers.

The Audit Commission revealed in a report published on Wednesday that some of the nutritional facts shown on certain baby food and special product labels have proved in lab tests to have been egregiously exaggerated. In addition, some baby formulas contain ingredients such as cholesterols in the absence of convincing scientific proof that they are even suitable for babies.

Baby food affects the health and development of small children significantly and therefore should be under statutory protection tighter than other products instead of being left to their producers' discretion to provide safety guarantees. Some of the substandard food products may have been sold to individual consumers, who have the right to demand their money back upon returning their purchases to the retailer. Food and Health authorities should let the public know all about it.

This is an excerpted translation of a Sing Tao Daily editorial published on Nov 17.