A mother with her seven-month-old baby strapped to her chest claims she was accused of buying baby formula to sell to China by shop staff.
Perth mother Mindy said staff at a Big W store stopped her and allegedly accused her of wanting to buy baby formula to on-sell overseas, Seven News reported.
‘It’s pretty traumatising buying formula for your baby and just getting attacked like that,’ Mindy said.
Perth mother Mindy (pictured) said staff at a Big W store stopped her and allegedly accused her of wanting to buy baby formula to on-sell overseas
Mindy claims the staff member allegedly snatched formula off her friend Anastasia (pictured)
It comes after a milk formula shortage has hit Australian shelves, creating a high demand for the product (stock image)
Despite Mindy having her baby strapped to her body, as well as telling the Big W shop assistant the formula was for her child, the staff member allegedly snatched the formula off the mother’s friend Anastasia.
The two women, from Singapore and Indonesia, said they were under the baby formula limit and felt like they were being targeted because of their race.
Recently, frustrated shoppers have taken to social media to share their outrage over other women scrambling to buy baby formula at supermarkets for the purpose of selling it to China.
Seven News previously revealed numbers of Chinese shoppers emptying shelves of Australian supermarkets and taking the baby formula to makeshift warehouses to sell to a Chinese market.
The underground industry known as ‘daigou’ has emerged because people don’t trust food safety levels in China.
Therefore, Australian shoppers are stocking up on tins of baby formula and sell them via apps such as WeChat.
Shoppers have were caught earlier this month piling up on tins of baby formula at Coles to on-sell to China (pictured)
The underground industry known as ‘daigou’ has emerged because people don’t trust food safety levels in China (shoppers pictured earlier in the month)
Mindy told 7 News she now felt unsafe visiting other stores because of the racial stereotype after shoppers were caught buying huge numbers of formula at supermarkets (pictured)
The high demand sees shelves stripped of formula, leaving nothing for local mothers which prompted a 4 tin per customer limit at some stores.
Photos emerged on Facebook earlier this month showing a Chinese woman buying 16 tins of the product and filling a van packed with formula.
Mindy told 7 News she now felt unsafe visiting other stores because of the racial stereotype that will make people look at her in similar vain.
Big W told the program they ‘take customer concerns very seriously’ and were investigating the issue.