Multiple toddlers in China have developed deformed heads after consuming a product sold to their parents as baby formula. Pictures of the toddlers are going viral as parents show their babies’ heads with strange swellings after their they fed on the product for several months.
Cases are being reported in the city of Chenzhou in Southern China’s Hunan province.
The controversial drink is called Bei An Min and produced locally in Hunan, according to local officials. The manufacturer labeled it as a “solid drink of protein” on the packaging, but was sold in the formula section of a popular maternity store. The mix-up is leaving misled parents devastated.
Unusual Symptoms Reported
Daily Mail reported on the investigation conducted by Hunan Economy TV. The news agency reports that parents were recommended the product after their kids were found to be allergic to milk.
Sick children were diagnosed with Rickets, which is a condition that affects bone development in children, causing pain, poor growth and soft, weak bones. It can also lead to deformities.
One father spoke to Hunan Economy TV and described his three-year-old’s skull by saying it “juts out obviously.” His child also has been developing slowly and displays the physical traits of a two-year-old after consuming the product.
Another mother reported that her daughter’s forehead “is protruding,” and people have been noticing. “Others all say that your child looks like a ‘big-headed baby’ and ask if she is deformed,” she said while showing a picture of her daughter on her phone.
Response to Controversy
Daily Mail reports that a Bei An Min representative told Beijing News that their product was a regular drink for “ordinary customers” and produced within government regulations. The company was unaware the product was sold to parents as a baby formula alternative.
The representative also relayed that production of Bei An Min was suspended mid-2019 and investigations into parents’ claims are ongoing.