Parents are facing a new baby formula scare which will bring back memories of the Sanlu scandal in 2008 when 300,000 babies were affected by melamine-tainted milk.

Shanghai industrial and commercial watchdogs said yesterday they were paying close attention to the local market after China-produced Synitra baby formula was reported as causing unusually early sexual development in infants in several provinces on the Chinese mainland.

Synitra baby formula is not on the shelf at local major supermarkets but is available on e-commerce websites.

Three cases have been reported in Wuhan, Hubei Province, of baby girls starting to grow breasts as young as one year old. All three had been fed with Synitra formula since birth, according to Xinhua news agency.

Similar cases were also reported in Guangdong, Jiangxi and Shanxi provinces.

A 10-month-old girl from Fengxin County, Jiangxi Province, and an eight-month-old girl from Linyi, Shandong Province, also showed symptoms of early sexual development.

A three-month-old boy from Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province, was found to have an excess of the female hormone estrogen.

Last month at Wuhan Children's Hospital, a 15-month-old girl was found to have the estrogen levels of a grown woman. Doctors suggested the parents stop feeding her Synitra formula immediately.

Deng Xiaoyun, the baby's mother, said that after they stopped feeding the baby formula her condition improved. Deng told Xinhua the Synitra company had suggested paying compensation of 200,000 yuan (US$28,570), but she declined. "At that time what I thought was to make clear what disease on earth my daughter had caught," she said.

At present no state-level or provincial authority has commented on the affair.

The Qingdao, Shandong Province-based Synitra Nutritious Food Co Ltd said the products of the company were safe and had passed authorities' quality tests.

'Not scientific'

The company also claimed that some reports had slanted the fact, adding: "It's not scientific or reasonable to hold the conception that baby formula was the only reason for sexual precocity."

Shanghai Daily tried to contact the company yesterday without success.

The Shanghai Industrial and Commercial Administrative Bureau said they had not received any notice from state-level bureau to carry out inspections or to remove the product from shelves. "We carry out regular inspections of the milk powder market in Shanghai, and haven't found baby formula containing hormones," said Shen Li, a bureau official.

• industrial [in´dʌstriəl] a.工业的，产业的 (初中英语单词)
• commercial [kə´mə:ʃəl] a.商业的 n.广告节目 (初中英语单词)
• yesterday [´jestədi] n.&ad.昨天；前不久 (初中英语单词)
• available [ə´veiləbəl] a.可用的；有效的 (初中英语单词)
• province [´prɔvins] n.省；领域；范围 (初中英语单词)
• agency [´eidʒənsi] n.代理商；机构；代理 (初中英语单词)
• excess [´ekses] n.超过 a.过分的 (初中英语单词)
• female [´fi:meil] a.女(性)的 n.女人 (初中英语单词)
• scientific [,saiən´tifik] a.科学(上)的 (初中英语单词)
• reasonable [´rizənəbəl] a.合理的；有理智的 (初中英语单词)
• contact [´kɔntækt] n.接触；联系 v.联络 (初中英语单词)
• bureau [´bjuərəu] n.局；编辑部；事务所 (初中英语单词)
• formula [´fɔ:mjulə] n.公式；配方；原则 (高中英语单词)
• scandal [´skændl] n.丑闻；耻辱；流言蜚语 (高中英语单词)
• compensation [,kɔmpen´seiʃən] n.补偿，赔偿 (高中英语单词)
• conception [kən´sepʃən] n.构思；概念；怀孕 (高中英语单词)
• shelves [ʃelvz] shelf的复数 (高中英语单词)
• unusually [ʌn´ju:ʒuəli] ad.异常地；非常 (英语四级单词)
• mainland [´meinlənd] n.大陆；本土 (英语四级单词)
• provincial [prə´vinʃəl] a.省的 n.外省人 (英语四级单词)
• administrative [əd´ministrətiv] a.管理的，行政的 (英语四级单词)
• affected [ə´fektid] a.做作的；假装的 (英语六级单词)
• sexual [´sekʃuəl] a.性(欲)的 (英语六级单词)