Albert Heijn takes measures as Chinese baby formula hoarding picks up

Albert Heijn re-implemented measures in the sale of baby formula as the demand is increasing again. According to the supermarket, traders across the country are buying up Nutrilon 1 to 5 and shipping the formula to China, NOS reports.

Albert Heijn branches are therefore limiting the purchase of formula to two cans per customer. Baby formula can also only be bought at the service desk - there is a note on the shelves telling customers to go to the desk for baby formula. The supermarket chain hopes that this will ensure that the product is always available to Dutch customers. 

Dutch baby formula was in high demand in China a few years ago after a baby formula scandal in the country. Six babies died and more than 300 thousand became ill after drinking poisoned products. Many traders bought large quantities of the formula to then resell it at a high profit in China

According to Nutricia, Nutrilon's producer, there is no reason to believe that there will be another run on Dutch baby formula. "The demand always fluctuates. We are now seeing an increase in activity at the merchants. Some stores switched to selling formula through the service desk. That is up to the retailer, we did not ask for it. We increased production activity ourselves."

Since last year it is aso possible for Chinese consumers to order baby food directly from the Netherlands online.