China's breast feeding rates are 48.7 percent and 60.4 percent respectively in urban and rural areas, indicating that about half of the country's newborns are fed with artificial-formula milk powder of various kinds, an official on children's food safety said.

Chen Xuezhong, head of China's leading group for piloting the credibility system of the children's food industry, said at a recent seminar on food safety that the quality of children's food determines the health of every child, the happiness of every family and the future of the whole nation.

Chinese experts on infant medical science hold that heavy workloads and life pressures or physical conditions, including the lack of milk, are major reasons leading to young mothers' failure to breast feed, which was the only choice for feeding newborns in the old times.

Health experts regard mother's milk as the best and most ideal food for newborns because it helps babies improve their immune systems.

Though Chinese women have a long tradition of breast feeding, its rate has dropped greatly in recent years. Many mothers mistakenly believe that using substitutions, such as various kinds of milk powder available on the market, is more nutritious, said experts. 

(Xinhua News Agency May 29, 2005)