Breastfeeding Advocacy Toolkit
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HOW NESTLÉ GETS CHILDREN HOOKED ON SUGAR IN LOWER-INCOME COUNTRIES
IBFAN - Public Eye
Nestlé’s leading baby-food brands, promoted in low- and middle-income countries as healthy and key to supporting young children’s development, contain high levels of added sugar
In Switzerland, where Nestlé is headquartered, such products are sold with no added sugar. These are the main findings of a new investigation by Public Eye and the International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN), which shed light on Nestlé’s hypocrisy and the deceptive marketing strategies deployed by the Swiss food giant.
Two of the best-selling baby-food brands marketed by Nestlé in low- and middle-income countries contain high levels of added sugar, while such products are sugar free in its home country, Switzerland. These are the key findings of an investigation by Public Eye and the International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN). On the eve of its Annual General Meeting, pressure mounts on Nestlé to put an end to this unjustifiable and harmful double standard, which contributes to the explosive rise of obesity and leads children to develop a life-long preference for sugary products.
Fifty years on from the start of the infant formula scandal, Nestlé claims to have learned from the past while doing everything it can to keep its world leadership in infant and young child nutrition. The food giant controls 20 percent of the baby-food market, valued at nearly $70 billion. With more than $2.5 billion in world sales in 2022, Cerelac and Nido are some of Nestlé’s best-selling baby-food brands in low- and middle-income countries. The multinational aggressively advertises these products as essential to children’s healthy development in its main markets in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
Marketing of breast-milk substitutes: national implementation of the International Code, status report 2024
WHO/Unicef/IBFAN
This report provides updated information on the status of implementation of the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes (BMS) and subsequent relevant World Health Assembly (WHA) resolutions (collectively referred to as “the Code”) in countries. It presents the legal status of the Code, including the extent to which the provisions of the Code have been incorporated in national legal measures. The report examines further the processes countries use to monitor and enforce compliance with Code laws. The report also provides case-studies from a few countries on their legislative processes, highlighting examples of interference from manufacturers and distributors of breast-milk substitutes in efforts to weaken and delay Code implementation.
WHO TEAM
Food & Nutrition Action in Health Systems (AHS), Nutrition and Food Safety (NFS)
EDITORS
World Health Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
NUMBER OF PAGES
102
REFERENCE NUMBERS
ISBN: 978-92-4-009448-2
Restricting digital marketing in the context of tobacco, alcohol, food and beverages, and breast-milk substitutes: existing approaches and policy options
WHO
A small river named Duden flows by their place and supplies it with the necessary regelialia. It is a paradisematic country, in which roasted parts of sentences fly into your mouth. Even the all-powerful Pointing has no control about the blind texts it is an almost orthographic life
One day however a small line of blind text by the name of Lorem Ipsum decided to leave for the far World of Grammar. The Big Oxmox advised her not to do so, because
WHO Guideline for complementary feeding of infants and young children 6-23 months of age
WHO
A small river named Duden flows by their place and supplies it with the necessary regelialia. It is a paradisematic country, in which roasted parts of sentences fly into your mouth. Even the all-powerful Pointing has no control about the blind texts it is an almost orthographic life
One day however a small line of blind text by the name of Lorem Ipsum decided to leave for the far World of Grammar. The Big Oxmox advised her not to do so, because
How the marketing of formula milk influences our decisions on infant feeding
WHO/Unicef
This report summarizes the findings of a multicountry study examining the impact of formula milk marketing on infant feeding decisions and practices, which was commissioned by WHO and UNICEF. The research study – the largest of its kind to date – draws on the experiences of over 8500 women and more than 300 health professionals across eight countries (Bangladesh, China, Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, the United Kingdom and Viet Nam). It exposes the aggressive marketing practices used by the formula milk industry, highlights the impacts on women and families, and outlines opportunities for action.
News release:
More than half of parents and pregnant women exposed to aggressive formula milk marketing – WHO, UNICEF
Marketing of breast-milk substitutes: national implementation of the International Code, status report 2020
WHO/unicef/IBFAN
This report provides updated information on the status of implementing the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes and subsequent relevant World Health Assembly (WHA) resolutions (“the Code”) in countries. It presents the legal status of the Code, including to what extent its provisions have been incorporated in national legal measures. Given the important role of health workers in protecting pregnant women, mothers and their infants from the inappropriate promotion of BMS, the 2020 report highlights specific provisions considered to be particularly instrumental in addressing and eliminating the promotion of breast-milk substitutes, feeding bottles and teats to health workers and in health facilities, and provides an extensive analysis of legal measures taken to prohibit promotion to health workers and in health facilities.
In this report, a new scoring algorithm was used to classify countries’ legislation. The scoring methods allow for standardized classification of countries following agreed criteria among WHO, UNICEF, and IBFAN. The legal measures for all countries have been analyzed based on an expanded, standardized checklist with an algorithm to facilitate a systematic and objective classification of countries according to their alignment with the Code. Since 2018, progress has continued to be made on the promotion and protection of breastfeeding, both globally and in countries. More robust measures to curb continuing harmful marketing practices by manufacturers and distributors of BMS have been adopted in several countries.
Protecting Infant and Young Child Nutrition from Industry Interference and Conflicts of Interest
Unicef
The baby food industry's interference in policy-making and implementation processes, and the conflicts of interest this creates in health care systems, have limited progress on Code implementation. This clear guide explains the often-hidden processes at work and serves as a call to action for health authorities, health care workers, and governments.
Organization
UNICEF
Publication date
2023
Language
English
International Code of Marketing of Breast-Milk Substitutes
WHO
The World Health Organization and UNICEF have for many years emphasized the importance of maintaining the practice of breastfeeding, and of reviving the practice where it is in decline, as a way to improve the health and nutrition of infants and young children. A variety of factors influence the prevalence and duration of breastfeeding.
The 27th World Health Assembly in 1974 noted the general decline in breastfeeding related to different factors including the production of manufactured breast-milk substitutes and urged Member countries to review sales promotion activities on baby foods and to introduce appropriate remedial measures, including advertisement codes and legislation where necessary.
The 33rd World Health Assembly, en May 1980, endorsed in their entirety the statement and recommendations agreed by consensus at this joint WHO/UNICEF meeting and made particular mention of the recommendation that "There should be an international code of marketing of infant formula and other products used as breast-milk substitutes".
In May 1981 the Health Assembly debated the issue after it had been introduced by the representative of the Executive Board. It adopted the code, as proposed, on 21 May by 118 votes.
The Code Handbook
IBFAN
This Handbook is written to aid governments in developing measures to implement the
World Health Organization International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk1
Substitutes
(International Code), which was adopted by the World Health Assembly (WHA) in
May 1981. At that time the World Health Assembly was concerned about the aggressive and
often inappropriate marketing of breastmilk substitutes, which was contributing to an alarming
decline in breastfeeding and the associated increased malnutrition, morbidity and mortality
among infants and young children worldwide.