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Canada Royal Milk is looking to launch infant formula in its home market in a matter of months after receiving regulatory approval.

The Ontario-based business was set up by China’s Feihe Milk in 2019. So far, Canada Royal Milk has focused on making powdered milk, including for food manufacturers,

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However, the green light from government officials means the company can expand its product range for sale in Canada.

“Next steps to begin production of the first batch of infant formula have been initiated, and it is anticipated that the product will be available for retail distribution from coast-to-coast-to-coast this summer,” Canada Royal Milk said in a statement.

Just Food has approached the company for further details.

Sylvain Charlebois, a professor in food distribution and policy at the Faculties of Management and Agriculture at Dalhousie University in Halifax, said: “I think consumer acceptance here in Canada is going to be an issue. China’s food safety reputation is not stellar abroad, including in Canada.”

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Throughout much of 2022 and 2023, there were issues with infant-formula supplies in Canada. The problems were sparked by nationwide shortages in the US after the closure of an Abbott Nutritionals site in Michigan due to a contamination scare.

The Canadian government sought to relieve the pressure on supplies by allowing for temporary imports of formula from Europe.

The Abbott plant, a major supplier of formula to Canada, re-opened after four months but the affair highlighted the tight nature of supplies on both sides of the border.

Last month, in a report examining the problems in the US, the country’s Federal Trade Commission called on national regulators to re-evaluate policies to boost competition and resilience in the national baby formula market.

It found the US infant formula market has been dominated by “relatively few manufacturers” over the past two decades.