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More Chinese children might have been victims of so-called "special medical milk powder," and parents reached by the Global Times questioned the local market regulator's lack of action since news of children in a city of Central China's Hunan Province consuming such powder as milk formula and developing "big-head" disease emerged as early as 2019. 

The parents of five children in Chenzhou, who suffer from severe weight loss, skull deformities resembling "big head" and a number of other diseases after consuming a protein powder called Beianmin on their doctors' advice, urged local authorities to investigate the case, media reported this week. The recent news also shed light on a case reported in 2019 involving another brand named Shuertai. 

Such protein powder, which is usually intended for babies who are allergic to milk protein, costs double or triple the price of baby formula. 

Hunan authorities said on Thursday that they are sending a special team to thoroughly investigate the case.

The Chenzhou market regulation administration and health commission on Wednesday said that in the 2019 case, the incident was identified as one of false promotion, and the doctors involved were suspended from their positions for one year. The milk powder producer and hospital were asked to compensate the victims.

Some parents who reported the problem to the local market regulators in 2019 told the Global Times on Thursday that they had not received compensation yet. 

"Why does it take nearly six months, and another similar scandal, for local authorities to handle the case?" a parent who required anonymity said. 

The Chenzhou market regulation administration told The Beijing News on Thursday that it had ordered penalties for the related businesses, but because the cases involved many parties, the compensation and physical checks are still being negotiated.

The father of an 18-month-old child surnamed Liu told the Global Times his son began drinking the fake milk from the age of eight months, when he was diagnosed with an allergy to milk. "From May to December in 2019, we had to take the boy to the hospital basically every month after he consumed the drink."

"Because it was recommended by doctors, we did not suspect the product until seeing a media report," Liu said. 

Liu and some 80 other parents have a WeChat group, where they share their experiences and discuss the case. Some of the parents are worried the product might have a long-term impact on their children's health even though they did not display obvious symptoms at present. 

According to some parents, the "medical milk powder" was sold at local mother and child stores, and some was sold at pharmacies affiliated with local hospitals. 

Parents urged that the stores be held accountable and pay compensation, as salespeople misled customers into buying the powder as a milk substitute. But the store owners refused, saying it was the manufacturers that promoted the product as a nutritional supplement for children with allergies. 

A saleswoman at a store in Yongxing county that is part of a maternal product chain accused of selling the problematic products to parents, told the Global Times that the shop was operating normally on Thursday. 

"The local administration for industry and commerce inspected the shop on Wednesday afternoon, and we fully cooperated. Our shop doesn't sell the involved brand of baby formula," the saleswoman said.