Heinz is alleged to have waited nine days before announcing a recall when it was first confronted by government officials over infant food containing excess amounts of lead, reports Sina Finance.

Heinz announced last Friday that it is recalling four batches of Heinz AD Calcium Hi-Protein Cereal, an infant food, once Zhejiang food safety regulators said they had tested the product and found excessive amounts of lead.

The Hangzhou municipal inspection bureau first told provincial authorities about the problem on August 4. Two days later, Zhejiang authorities visited Heinz management and asked the company to fully comply with the investigation, to reveal the cause of the contamination, and to compensate consumers.

However, the recall was only made public on August 15, nine days later.

The delay in notifying consumers of the contaminated baby formula has outraged consumers in China, many of whom have called for strong punitive measures against Heinz. “There no need to doubt that Heinz was fully aware of the law when it acted in an untimely manner in dealing with this recall,” said Shanghai lawyer Wu Dong.

Famous food expert Wang Dingmian was much more specific in suggesting Heinz should be held responsible. “Heinz has repeatedly had problems with quality, and yet has not learned from its mistakes. For treating the health of babies as a game and for its vile nature, it should be punished severely.”

The Zhejiang Food and Drug Inspection Bureau said 1,472 boxes of the product are contaminated. Heinz said it will destroy another 153 boxes held in a Guangzhou warehouse.

The Guangdong Food and Drug Inspection Bureau said it will be conducting its own investigation into the cereal, which is manufactured in Guangdong.

The specific batches named in the recall are 400g boxes of Heinz AD Calcium Hi-Protein Cereal with the production dates numbers of 20140413, 20140414, 20140508, and 20140509.

Photos: Sina Finance, CCTV