Government continues to follow up on incident regarding powdered infant formula found with lead possibly exceeding limit, with no cases of lead poisoning in infants or young children due to consumption of powdered infant formula identified so far

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     The Department of Health (DH) today (August 26) said that since receiving a notification in late July from the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department that the product Frisolac Prestige Stage 1 Infant Formula (batch number: 1W07KPJ) had been found by the Macao authority with lead possibly exceeding the permissible level in Macao, the DH has been actively following up on the health conditions of infants and young children who consumed the relevant batch of powdered infant formula. No cases of lead poisoning in infants or young children resulting from consumption of the affected powdered infant formula have been identified.

     In response to the incident, the DH set up a telephone hotline (2125 1199) on July 26 to answer public enquiries relating to the health condition of infants and young children, as well as the switching of infant formulas. Cases were referred to the Hospital Authority (HA) for follow-up as and when necessary. As of noon today, the DH's hotline and Maternal and Child Health Centres have received 762 relevant enquiries. Based on individual circumstances, the DH provided advice on switching infant formulas, and referred 446 infants and young children to the HA for assessment and follow-ups. Among them, 237 have undergone clinical assessments. Results indicated that their overall health is good and that none have shown signs of lead poisoning. Regarding the cases not assessed, the main reasons were that parents decided not to proceed with further assessment and a small number of cases are still pending assessment.

     According to the CFS, it has stepped up the surveillance of lead content in powdered infant and follow-up formula in the market. To date, no cases have been found to exceed Hong Kong's statutory standard for lead.

     Given that the hotline set up by the DH specifically for this incident has received only a small number of enquiries in recent weeks, the hotline will cease operations at 6pm on August 28. If parents notice that their infants or young children are feeling unwell, or if parents have any concerns, they should seek advice from healthcare professionals as soon as possible. For information on health advice regarding the switch to alternative infant formula, the public may visit the DH's webpage for details.

Ends/Wednesday, August 26, 2026
Issued at HKT 16:00

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