Sydney

DESPITE fully stocked shelves of baby formula made by Procter & Gamble, Nestle, Danone and others, supermarkets in the Coles chain sell only two cans to each customer at a time.

The rule is designed to frustrate a thriving underground market that ships Australian formula to Chinese cities, where only 16 per cent of new mothers breast-feed their children exclusively, according to China's National Health and Family Planning Commission.