Infant formula firms bribe hospital staff in China: CCTV
Staff Reporter 2013-09-18 08:23
A woman shops for formula at a pharmacy in Jinan, Shandong province. (Photo/CNS)
Milk powder companies in China are spending tens of thousands of dollars every month bribing hospital staff to use their brand of formula to feed newborns, according to a report by state broadcaster China Central Television.
According to the CCTV investigation, doctors and nurses at hospitals in the northern metropolis of Tianjin are receiving hundreds to tens of thousands of yuan every month from baby formula companies to use or recommend their brand for newborns. Ordinarily, hospitals do not allow parents to bring their own baby formula for use in the hospital and statistics have shown that parents are likely to continue using the same brand after they return home.
An executive from children's nutrition company Dumex provided CCTV with a list detailing the amount of money paid to medical staff between January and July this year, including the names and positions of the doctors and nurses and their bank account information. Each person on the list received several hundred yuan to as much as 10,000 yuan (US$1,600), costing the company an average of 300,000 yuan (US$49,000) a month.
The executive said that if their company does not offer enough money to the hospitals then they may switch to a different formula brand the following month.
An obstetrician at a Tianjin hospital told CCTV that she has received around 1,000 yuan (US$160) from Dumex every month since January, adding that if a particular company wants their brand to be used at their hospital they would need to "donate" money to hospital campaigns and activities.
A Tianjin hospital nurse, who says she received 300 yuan (US$50) from Dumex last month, claims that new parents will often ask nurses which brands of baby formula they recommend. Meanwhile, it is said that nurses can receive up to 50 yuan (US$8) in commission from the milk powder manufacturer for each tin of formula sold based on their recommendation.
French food producer Danone, which owns the Dumex brand, told Reuters that it was stunned by CCTV's revelations and has vowed to conduct an immediate investigation into the allegations.
Chinese regulations specify that hospitals must not recommend or promote a particular brand or brands of baby formula to pregnant women. A Tianjin health bureau special task force has also found that most hospitals prohibit staff from recommending a particular brand of baby formula and must provide at least three brands for parents to choose from.
However, with 70% of the 20 million babies born in China every year opting for baby formula as opposed to breast milk, the lucrative race to be the "first taste" brand for newborns will likely continue.
