China mothers flock to Hong Kong for safe baby milk

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Thousands of mothers from China have flocked to Hong Kong to buy milk powder manufactured overseas, as a tainted milk powder scandal spreads, newspapers said on Wednesday.

Pharmacies and supermarkets along the rail line linking Hong Kong to the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen experienced "panic buying of overseas milk powder brands", the South China Morning Post reported.

The paper quoted Lau Oi-kwok, chairman of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Pharmacy, as saying mainland mothers were "restricted to a maximum of three cans at each pharmacy" to ensure supplies wouldn't run out for Hong Kong mothers.

Chinese quality officials have ordered a nationwide probe into all baby milk powders after hundreds of infants developed kidney stones after drinking tainted formula made by the Sanlu group. Two have died.

Twenty percent of Chinese dairy firms probed in the wake of the health scandal have been found to have produced melamine-tainted formula, including Beijing Olympic Games sponsor Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group and Hong Kong-listed Mengniu Dairy, state television said, citing China's quality watchdog.

China has been beset by scandals about toxic and unsafe products in recent years. In 2004, at least 13 babies died after drinking fake milk powder that had no nutritional value.

Melamine is rich in nitrogen, an element often used to measure protein, and can be used to disguise diluted milk. It is the same additive which caused the deaths of pets in the United States last year from contaminated pet food.

Hong Kong, which has stringent regulatory and legal systems as well as a powerful consumer watchdog, has long been a popular shopping hub for Chinese visitors stocking up on medication drugs.

Hong Kong, a former British colony, returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

(Reporting by James Pomfret; Editing by Nick Macfie)