A few weeks later, Patrick Begley of the Sidney Morning Herald exposed how an Australian corporation Little Etoile, handed out formula in Vietnam as an “Act of Love”:
Taller, stronger, smarter: The baseless claims used to sell ‘toddler milk’ powder Australian parents are told not to buy the ultra-processed powdered milk products, but the government is helping fund a boom overseas. The investigation uncovered hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants flowing to Australian dairy companies whose overseas social media pages peddle baseless promises of smarter, taller children with stronger immune systems. According to the article, the Australian federal government is fuelling the sale of expensive “toddler milks” to families in poorer nations, backing the rise of an ultra-processed product Australian health authorities have warned parents not to buy.
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47th Codex Alimentarius Commission (25–30 Nov 2024, Geneva, Switzerland) | Here are some of IBFAN’s statements
Agenda Item 5: New Codex standard on baby foods. IBFAN acknowledged that the old standards are now not fit for purpose. The 1981 canned food standard has no limits on sugar and the 2006 baby cereal standard allows up to 30%. Highlighting that after 6 months babies can eat normal foods, IBFAN called for strict safeguards to ensure that labelling and marketing does not undermine breastfeeding and normal bio-diverse family foods.
Agenda Item 12: WHO FAO report. IBFAN welcomed WHO’s work and clarified that WHO no Guidance forces mothers to breastfeed – it just protects against misinformation. We expressed caution about the new cell-based formulas that claim to mimick human milk, saying marketing regulations need to keep pace.
Agenda 13: Potential webcasting of Executive meeting. Referring to the many decades where even taping of meetings was forbidden, IBFAN reminded delegates of their purpose. Codex cannot claim to be transparent then keep important meetings private. If Codex is serious about to addressing the Triple Planetary Crisis (climate change, pollution and bio-diversity loss) it must strengthen its transparency, conflict of interest safeguards and ensure that all Codex standards are in line with WHO recommendations.
Side Event on food labelling: IBFAN highlighted the risks of weak Codex standards on national policy setting. Codex must help governments control UPFs. The side event: Beyond food safety: effective labelling for healthier food in the context of Codex guidance was organized by WHO and Chaired by Benn McGrady and Luz Maria de Regil with Katrin Engelhardt, Fabio Gomes andErik Wijkstrom, WTO.
