Shandong company accused of selling fake baby formula

A company accused of producing and distributing counterfeit baby formula has gone on trial in Shanghai.

Jining Jingu Packaging Co, of Jining, Shandong province, is accused of producing tins bearing the logos of baby-formula manufacturers Beingmate and Abbott that contained milk powder made by other companies, Shanghai No 3 Intermediate People's Court said in a statement on Monday.

Five defendants, including Jining Jingu Packaging representative Gu Chuansheng, have been charged with each selling up to 3.6 million yuan ($524,000) worth of fake baby formula between August 2014 and September 2015.

Four others stand accused of assisting with the production of the counterfeit tins and an additional two defendants have been charged with selling the formula despite knowing it was fake.

Five of the defendants, including Gu and Jining Jingu Packaging Co, allegedly produced more than 30,000 tins of baby formula bearing fraudulent Beingmate and Abbott trademarks, the court said.

The trial, which opened on Monday, is expected to last two days.