PETALING JAYA: Malaysians are more wary about dairy products on the shelves following the tainted milk scare in China.

"The first thing I did was to check all the labels of the food at home," said housewife Ashley Tew, 31.

"Fortunately, nothing seems to be of a brand with tainted products but I will definitely not be buying any dairy products from China anymore," she said.

Some consumers are even avoiding all dairy products while others were not buying imported food from China.

Businessman Donald Lim, 35, said he and his family were staying away from all milk-based foods.

"It is very hard. You find that almost everything is dairy-based, from a simple cup of tea to breakfast oatmeal. However, we will do it for health's sake. Even if the packet says it is manufactured elsewhere, you never know where the raw materials came from," he said.

Businesswoman Rosdalina Dahlan, 50, has been buying only established local brands since the scare broke out.

"I don't want to change my eating habits very much, so for now I think that is the best I can do," she said.

Network engineer S. Kumaran, 27, agrees. He said the only beverage he trusted now was local chocolate drink Milo.

"The choices left are generally very limited once you decide to abstain from all Chinese products," he said.