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Working to protect infant health and mother's rights

Advocacy update February 2008 :

BFLG submission 13 February 2007 to the Government's consultation on the Guidance Notes to accompany the Infant Formula and Follow-on Formula Regulations 2007: Report - Trying to make the UK's weak formula law work. Plus line-by-line analysis and comments on trials and research (to be added shortly).

Industry challenge to the UK formula regulations. BFLG, represented by Baby Milk Action, is taking action to stop the UK's new Regulations and, more importantly, a 12-month review, from being delayed by the baby food industry. The industry has taken the government to court in a bid to have the Regulations delayed and has succeeded in having them suspended in England, Northern Ireland and Wales. Donations can be made via the Baby Milk Action webiste. See: Sunday Herald 20 January 2008: Legal challenge to baby-milk law.

Action July 2007: Send a message to the government about strengthening the Infant Formula and Follow-on Formula Regulations.

Policy comments 18 June 2007: Cereals and Parnuts (background papers are available on the Baby Milk Action website - click here)

22 December 2006: European Union Directive on Infant and Follow-on Formula published. Click here to download.

Final EU Directive on Infant Formulae and Follow-on Formulae, as updated 2006

Vote NO on Wednesday:BFLG message to the UK Government on the EU Directive on Infant and Follow-on Formula

Latest documents:

On Wednesday 19th July European bureaucrats (including the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA)) will take a vote on an EU Directive [note 1] that could prevent all EU member states from protecting infant health. We are asking the UK Government  and the 24 other Member States to Vote No to the EC Directive.

The proposals being put forward by the European Commission will legalise harmful marketing practices which undermine breastfeeding and infant health [note 2]. They will also pose risks for bottle-fed babies because the Directive allows manufacturers to add new ingredients before their safety has been investigated by European Food Standards Authority (EFSA).

The European Commission is claiming that it is impossible to introduce certain safeguards into the legislation because of an over-arching PARNUTS Framework Directive which covers foods for ‘particular nutritional uses’ including breastmilk substitutes. During the 1980s, the European Parliament rejected the European Commission’s proposals 3 times and voted to have the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes implemented in EU legislation.   The PARNUTS Framework Directive was drawn up following these votes and gives the Commission power to draw up  and amend legislation on breastmilk substitutes without  consulting Parliament.

If the current text is adopted,  EU Member States will not be able to carry out their responsibilities under the International Code and Subsequent World Health Assembly Resolutions, and their obligations under the Convention of the Rights of the Child.  It will also have a damaging impact on policy setting in Third countries and on international arenas such as Codex Alimentarius and the World Health Assembly, conveying the impression that harmful marketing practices [note 2] are approved by Europe’s health community. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth.  All the health, consumer and development bodies consulted have criticised the Commssion’s proposals and warned that it could do harm to public health.  The UK FSA and several other Member States have also tried to improve the Directive, but the European commission has consistently ignored the evidence presented, including much of the advice of its own advisory body, the Scientific Committee for Food.  

The main concerns about the Directive are that:

  1. Several Health and Nutrition Claims will be permitted  for infant formulas. New claims can be added at any time provided they are cleared by the Commission or certain bodies.  Nutrition and health claims on breastmilk substitutes are always misleading because they idealise the product and imply a health advantage and/or equivalence with breastfeeding. One of the claims permitted by the Directive has been rejected by the US Food and Drug Administration because they considered there was “ no credible evidence to support the company's claim” [note 3].
  2. Follow-on milk promotion will continue to be permitted.  Member States will have to face a challenge  from the Commission if they try to ban such promotion. The UK has submitted evidence that this promotion is misleading parents and undermining health.
  3. New ingredients can be added before their safety has been investigated by European Food Standards Authority (EFSA).

The UK Baby Feeding Law Group is calling on the UK Government to:

  • reject these proposals as they now stand
  • call for a revision of the PARNUTS FRAMEWORK Directive (89/398/EEC)
  • seek assurance from the European Commission that the UK or any other Member State will not face legal challenges if they implement provisions of the Code and Resolutions in their efforts to protect infant health.  

You can help by writing letters to the following people and asking your Member of Parliament to sign Early Day Motion 2157 (click here for details and a suggested letter):

The Rt Hon. Patricia Hewitt MP
Secretary of State for Health
Department of Health
Richmond House
79 Whitehall
London
SW1 2NS
email: clara.swinson@dh.gsi.gov.uk
Tel: 0207 210 5158
Fax: 0207 210 5410

Caroline Flint, MP
Minister of State for Public Health
Department of Health
Richmond House
79 Whitehall
London
SW1 2NS
email: sarah.fisher-mackey@dh.gsi.gov.uk
Tel: 0207 219 5801
Fax: 0207 210 5534

Dr Mark Toal
Promotion, Nutrition Labelling and Dietetic Foods Branch
Food Standards Agency
Room 115c
Aviation House
125 Kingsway
London WC2B 6NH
email: akki.khan@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk

Commissioner Markos Kyprianou,
DG SANCO
200 rue de la Loi
Brussels
B-1049
Belgium
markos.kyprianou@cec.eu.int  Fax: + 322 298 8473  Tel: +32 2 298 87 00

Helen Lee, DG Sanco (same address)  email:   Helen.Lee@cec.eu.int

[1]     Commission Directive on Infant formulae and Follow-on Formulae  Recast Version (Rev 5)   www.food.gov.uk/news/newsarchive/2006/jul/scofcahjune2006
[2]     www.ibfan.org/site2005/Pages/article.php?art_id=298&iui=1        www.babyfeedinglawgroup.org.uk/monitoring/monreportcompanies.html
[3]   Outrageous Claims  IBFAN/ICDC Focus  (weblink)

Background papers to download:

 1             www.food.gov.uk/news/newsarchive/2006/jul/scofcahjune2006
2      Comments of the Baby Feeding Law Group
3       ESPGHAN Comments on the Circular Letter CL 2005/53-NFSDU and on the Synopsis of comments received until 30 April
4       The PARNUTS  Framework Directive  (89/398/EEC).
5       An IBFAN Briefing drawn up in 1998 which includes a chart showing action taken by 12 EU Member States to implement the 1991 Directive.

BFLG reponse to European Union revised directive on Infant and Follow-on Formula, 4th draft, March 2006.

Response from the Breastfeeding Network. Response from the National Childbirth Trust.

IBFAN presentation on obesity and infant feeding, given by Patti Rundall at the European Platform for Action, March 2006. Click here to download powerpoint file.

European Union revised directive on Infant and Follow-on Formula, 4th draft, March 2006.

Responses from the Department of Health to BFLG letters.

Baby Feeding Law Group calls for action on business sponsorship and for the withdrawal of Nestlé’s infant formula.

UK baby food law campaign

See the briefing paper Why the UK baby feeding law must be changed.

Please send a letter calling for European Union regulations for the marketing of breastmilk substitutes to be brought into line with World Health Assembly standards. Now is the critical time. Click here for a suggested letter which is easy to email or post. Letters have been sent to the Food Standards Agency by the following organisations (click to download as pdf files):

2005 consultation - also see comments collected on the European Union website.

2004 consultation

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