(Yicai) July 27 -- The Chinese distributor of Dutch multinational dairy cooperative Royal FrieslandCampina said it will meet with Macao authorities today after a government test found excessive lead levels in one batch of its infant formula, while the company said an independent retest of the same batch showed the product complied with safety standards.

The dispute stems from an announcement by Macao's food safety authority on July 25 that Frisolac Prestige Stage 1 infant formula contained excessive levels of lead. Shanghai-based FrieslandCampina Food Trading said to Yicai that it will discuss the testing methods, technical standards, and underlying data with the relevant authorities.

FrieslandCampina Food Trading said that its Hong Kong unit had commissioned a third-party laboratory to conduct confirmatory testing of the same batch identified by the Department of Food Safety of the Macao Municipal Affairs Bureau. The company said the results showed the product's lead content complied with the applicable standard. The test found a lead level of less than 0.007 mg/kg, below Macao's food safety limit of less than 0.02 mg/kg.

The company added that all Friso products sold in its markets are tested and verified by FrieslandCampina and relevant European Union authorities, meeting the food safety standards of their respective markets. Every batch of Friso products officially imported into China's mainland also undergoes comprehensive factory inspections, with all test results showing no detectable lead, it said.

According to NielsenIQ data, FrieslandCampina's brands ranked third in China's infant formula market in 2025. Driven by strong growth in China, the company's Specialized Nutrition business generated revenue of EUR720 million (USD820 million) in 2025, an increase of 18 percent from a year earlier.

Editor: Emmi Laine