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Summary of violations reported
Many thanks to everyone who is reporting violations through the website. See the summary report Look What They're Doing in the UK for an overview of what the baby food industry is up to. For an update on illegal promotion in shops, see below.
Who's been breaking the law? Promotion in shops.
Last updated: 1 June 2006
Promotion of breastmilk substitutes is prohibited by the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes, adopted by the World Health Assembly in 1981. Under Article 11.3 of the Code manufacturers and distributors of products within its scope are required to ensure their activities at every level comply with its provisions.
The International Code and subsequent, relevant Resolutions of the World Health Assembly have yet to be implemented in the UK. At present the Infant Formula and Follow-on Formula Regulations (1995) prohibit the promotion to the general public of infant formula only.
Members of the public have been attempting to make use of the law by reporting cases to their local Trading Standards office. In many cases Trading Standards Officers have then taken action to stop the illegal activity. Yet as this report demonstrates, with the possible exception of Sainsbury's the same distributors and manufacturers keep repeating the same or similar illegal activity. Will it require prosecutions to make the companies take their responsibilities seriously?
The information in this report has primarily been gathered through forms submitted by members of the public via the monitoring section of www.babyfeedinglawgroup.org.uk and through monitoring conducted by a trained team and by Baby Feeding Law Group members.
The information is presented by retail outlet as Trading Standards raises concerns about illegal activity with these rather than the formula manufacturers. The omission of an outlet from this list does not indicate violations have not been registered. Those listed (with the exception of Sainsbury's) have had the most cases of illegal activity reported to us by members of the public in the period March 2004 to March 2005. We have listed examples we are aware have been reported to Trading Standards. For violations prior to this period, see the Look What They're Doing in the UK report (pdf), launched May 2004.
This report was prepared by Baby Milk Action, which is coordinating the BFLG monitoring exercise (click here to make a donation to help cover costs). Some of the promotions are price reductions, which are prohibited. Baby Milk Action has prepared a statement presenting its view that breastmilk substitutes are over-priced products, but any price reduction must be permanent, not promotional.
Asda
Examples of activity prohibited by the UK Law. These are cases reported to Trading Standards:
April 2004: Premilac infant formula on sale at 1 pence (sic). May 2004: Price reductions on SMA Gold infant formula. June 2004: Promotion of Cow&Gate premium. December 2004: Prominent shelf talkers for Aptamil 1. January 2005: Prominent shelf talkers for Aptamil 1 (right). March 2006: Aptamil first special display with ‘roll back’ April 2006: ‘Roll-back’ promotion. June 2006: 'Roll-back' promotion (right) |
January 2005
July 2006 |
Shelf talkers, such as those shown right, are produced centrally and we receive multiple violation reports from around the country when a new promotion is rolled out.
What will it take to stop Asda producing them?
Boots
Examples of activity prohibited by the UK Law. These are cases reported to Trading Standards:
April 2004: Milumil
was £5.99 now £2.99 promotion. May 2004: SMA
Gold ready-to-feed shelf talker. June 2004: Farley's First milk, 59p to 29p promotion. July 2004: Cow&Gate ready-to-feed price reduction shelf talker. August 2004: SMA Gold ready-to-feed 50p to 41p promotion. The monitor was told the Trading Standards home authority for Boots had warned the company to stop such promotions, but apparently this has had no effect. September 2004: Farley's First 59p to 29p promotion.
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Click images for hi-resolution versions. |
October 2004: Cow&Gate Plus 49p to 45p promotion.
February 2005: Aptamil 1 price promotion.
April 2005: Cow & Gate infant formula special promotion (pictured right).
January 2006: Milupa infant formula price reduction.
March 2006: Farleys First milk ready to feed cartons was 49p clearence orange sticker states now 25p. Hipp organic first milk was £6.49 orange sticker now £ 3.25. Farleys soya formula suitable from birth £8.19 with orange stickers clearence now £ 4.90.
Safeways/Morrisons
Examples of activity prohibited by the UK Law. These are cases reported to Trading Standards:
March 2004: Cow&Gate Premium and Plus £6.69 to £5.59 promotion. Safeway head office apparently informed Trading Standards the shelf-talkers would be removed from all stores, but it seems nothing has been done to stop such promotion recurring. May 2004: SMA
ready-to-feed promotion. June 2004: Farley's First milk ready-to-feed price reduction shelf talker. February 2005: Farley's First milk, Aptamil 1 and Cow&Gate plus price reduction shelf talkers. In addition to the promotions listed above, it is not uncommon for supermarkets to push infant formula with a 'clearance price' if use-by dates are close or packaging is being re-launched. The example shown right is from Morrisons in September 2004 when the supermarket attempted to argue that end-of-line promotions are not covered by the restrictions on promoting formula with discounts. The Law is clear: "No person shall at any place where any infant formula is sold by retail promote the sale of an infant formula by means of premiums, special sales, loss- leaders or tie-in sales [or] undertake any other promotional activity to induce the sale of an infant formula." |
It's illegal!
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Sainsbury's
Although Sainsbury's fails to meet its obligations under Article 11.3 of the International Code, it appears to be the exception amongst the major supermarkets in keeping its promise to stop centrally producing shelf-talkers promoting infant formula. Sainsbury's was reported to Trading Standards for a series of promotions up to March 2004, including a clearance price promotion for Aptamil infant formula in March 2004, but since then promotions have related to follow-on formula, not infant formula. Baby Milk Action registered one of the complaints after finding a 'clearance price' promotion in Cambridge. The shelf-talkers were removed and we were later informed by Trading Standards that Sainsbury's head office said it would modify its computer system to ensure no such promotions were generated in future. It raises the question, is Sainsbury's more concerned about following the law than other supermarkets, or is the Trading Standards office local to Sainsbury head office more effective in enforcing the law than those where the other supermarket head offices are based? Having acknowledged this apparent change, we will be very disappointed if on-going monitoring finds future infant formula promotions. Sainbsury's does have to do more to inform managers not to put damaged or end-of-line products at clearance price as we have received reports of this, such as for the Farley's ready-to-use first milk shown right. We are also concerned that promotions of follow-on formula, in violation of the International Code remains routine. |
Sainsbury's claimed 'clearance price' tickets such as this were generated automatically by a system which tracked stock levels and dropped prices if use-by dates were approaching. It promised to modify the system to ensure such promotions do not occur in future.
Reduced price Farley's ready-to-feed fist milk, January 2006. |
Tesco
Examples of activity prohibited by the UK Law. These are cases reported to Trading Standards:
July 2004: SMA Gold ready-to-feed low-price promotion. October 2004: Milumil £5.99 to £2.99 promotion. March 2005: 'NEW' Cow&Gate and Aptamil infant formulas promoted with shelf-talkers. April 2005: 'NEW' Cow&Gate and Aptamil infant formulas promoted with shelf-talkers. |
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