BEIJING, July 3 (Xinhuanet) -- A new standard for the production and handling of powdered infant formula has been adopted by the U.N. Codex Alimentarius Commission Wednesday.

    The benchmark contains a series of measures for the formula to reduce the risk of contamination from bacteria that can lead to serious illness, said Peter Ben Embarek, a food safety scientist with the World Health Organization (WHO).

    The commission, which has 174 members plus the European Union, adopted the standard during its annual meeting held this week in Geneva.

    The commission, set up by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization and WHO, is a worldwide reference for food safety for consumers and trade of foodstuffs.

    The new standard includes recommendations for parents and caretakers on how to prepare the bottles for babies and how to safely store them, Embarek said.

    "If you don't store the bottles properly, then you allow growth of these bacteria and the recontamination of the powder and therefore increase the risk of having this infection at the end," he said.

(Agencies)