Food safety fears gnaw at intl stores

Chinese parents spooked by a series of food safety scandals are importing baby formula from overseas in a trend that is causing milk powder supplies to dwindle across the globe.

Paranoid parents are tapping into China's massive diaspora, asking family and friends living abroad to send milk powder and baby food. Those without international connections are paying courier services to buy and send the products to China.

But now Chinese expatriates in Britain and the United States say they are finding it increasingly difficult to find supplies to send home, and medical experts are warning there could be dangers in importing an unknown international product.