Hearing becomes formality

BEIJING - A public hearing organized on Wednesday by the country's top quality watchdog over infant formula turned out to be merely a formality.

The hearing was held by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) on a new draft regulation that requires manufacturers of infant formula to check each batch of raw materials and finished products for the toxic chemical melamine.

The draft regulation, released last weekend by the AQSIQ, is widely seen as a move to step up safety procedures involved in the production of baby formula after melamine-tainted milk powder killed at least six infants and sickened about 300,000 children in China in 2008.