Business booms for baby food manufacturers in absence of govt regulations

With dissenting votes from the US, Chad and Bangladesh the stringent code devised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to control breast milk substitutes fell just short of a mandatory regulation. In its present form, which was overwhelmingly voted for by 97 countries including India last month, the WHO code is now a mere recommendation. In other words, the ball is now in the court of member countries and it is entirely up to them to modify, enforce and monitor baby food regulations.While neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka promptly introduced a ban on all forms of baby food advertising and promotion, India's own record in this area shows up poorly. Sixteen months after the Government set up the Working Group for a National Code of Ethics for Infant Food Industries, its conclusions still remain shrouded in mystifying silence.While Mrs Indira Gandhi herself singled out baby food promotion as an instance of unhealthy exploitation and strongly expressed herself against "profiteering from life and death", in her address at the 54th World Health Assembly held in Geneva in May. No concrete steps have been taken by her government on the final draft of the Code submitted by the Working Group as far back as April.Nirmala Buch, joint secretary in the Ministry of Social Welfare, which constituted the Working Group made a cryptic statement which seems to undermine the thoroughness of the WHO code: "It involves much more than simply saying yes or no, there are so many factors to be taken into consideration," said she. Also there is no indication whatsoever as to what the contents of the Working Group's recommendations are, or when and in what form it is likely to be enforced. Members of the Working Group are equally tight-lipped about their recommendations.Speculation: While speculation and rumours on the Government's mysterious silence continue, business is booming as usual for the baby food manufacturers in the country, with little letup in their seductive campaigns to win nursing mothers and health care personnel over to breast milk substitutes, weaning foods and feeding bottles. The breast vs the bottle war continues while business booms for baby food manufacturersIn a revelatory report, the India chapter of the International Organisation of Consumer Unions (IOCU) has documented persistent and flagrant violations of the 1979 WHOUNICEF recommendations on feeding practices, which were accepted by the Infant Food Industry (IFI). which represents 85 per cent of the baby food producers in the world. Significantly, the violations were not committed by multinationals alone but also by both private and public sector baby food companies in the country. Said V. Kurien, the mercurial chairman of the Gujarat Milk Marketing Federation, which produces Amul baby powder: "If the Government bans all advertising, then milk food will have to become a pharmaceutical, to be prescribed by a doctor. Do we have enough doctors to cater to everybody needing the stuff? If the Government puts it on the prescription then we have lost the battle."Regardless of his statements, the IOCU recorded violations in major cities across the country, which are totally unethical: Sales promotion to the public: In a tough drive to sell their products, major baby food companies, like Nestle, Amul, Foremost Dairies (producers of Angel milk food) Dalmia Dairies (Sapan milk food) and Poop-Cee (producers of feeding bottles and nipples) have completely omitted any mention of breast milk being the best for the baby. Conversely, they maintain that milk food is the best, it is "easily digestible" and is "as gentle as your love". In an advertisement for Poop-Cee feeding bottles the leading caption reads: "For a mother to feed her baby like this (the background has a picture of a healthy mother breast-feeding her child) every four hours just isn't convenient."Distribution of samples through Health Care systems: Milk nurses are deputed by companies (like Nestles) in the guise of "social workers" and representatives to introduce samples of their product to the doctors. A doctor from the Kalawati Sharan Children's Hospital in Delhi, said that Nestles had deputed a female representative to visit her hospital.The representative had left a tin of Lactogen as free sample for her, without her knowledge. The doctor was also under the impression that the representative had approached social workers attached to the hospital, and given them free samples. The hospital social workers are in a position to influence mothers since they give general advice to them. Representatives like these are also sent by Dalmia Dairies and Foremost Dairies to various health care units and hospitals.Inappropriate labelling: None of the brands that were surveyed (Nestle, Glaxo, Hindustan Lever and Amul) mention the phrase "Breast milk is the best form of nutrition", except Lactogen (Nestle). But, labels on the Lactogen tin prominently promote the product. The labels on the products mentioned are all in English, a language most Indians do not understand.In addition to these violations, companies like Nestle, Glaxo and Foremost Dairies have been distributing free samples, booklets, leaflets and even feeding bottles. In the Satdey Nursing Home in Bombay. Lactogen tins were distributed as free samples. Similarly, in Purandare Nursing Home in the same city. Nestles personnel visited the hospital to distribute leaflets to doctors and free samples were donated by the company. In another instance a lady employee of Angel Baby Milk Food company requested the B.Y.L. Nair Children's Hospital in Wadala to keep a stock of their product. She was told that it was not needed, as the aim of the hospital was to pool the extra milk of lactating mothers for use by-babies whose mothers do not have enough breast milk. The representative then approached the storekeeper of the hospital who willingly gave in to her demands. The IOCU report goes on to state that the most striking feature of their findings is the promotion to health personnel and the role of high power pediatricians both within and outside the Working Group in formulating the National Code of Ethics for IFI.Donations: Revealing in this context are the tie-ups between the Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) who are well represented in the lS-member Working Group. The IOCU shows that the IAP is highly dependent on the IFI for donations to meet expenses of seminars, workshops and conferences. At a "Delegate's Night" held at the 1980 Annual Conference of IAP, originally stated as the "Nestles Night", Food Specialities Ltd. of India (Nestle) spent a whopping Rs 150,000 on a dinner for the delegates. Recently Rs 50, 000 was offered by the firm to the IAP for an oration in social pediatrics. an offer which was favoured strongly by the president and secretary of the IAP, but turned down by agitated members.Arya (left) and Kurien: against a strict ban Such controversial instances are the tip of the iceberg. A steady flow of gifts in the form of writing pads, calendars, diaries and other knick-knacks invariably soften the attitudes of pediatricians - the people most closely in touch with nursing mothers and most likely to influence them. The IOCU suggests that IFI also sponsor foreign junkets for professional pediatricians.The vulnerability to the IFI lobby offers an important clue to the tardy progress and initial soft-pedalling on the draft code by the Working Group. So much so, that the IOCU notes that the draft recommended by Dr Gupta to the Working Group tallied uncannily with that of the IFI lobby. It was only after strong opposition from Dr R. K. Anand, chairman of the medical sub-committee of the Consumer Guidance Society of India, who was belatedly made a member of the Working Group, and from the chairman of the group, that work began on sterner draft regulations. The regulations are strongly pointing towards a total ban on advertising of artificial milk products, among other things.Restrict Advertising: Pediatricians are meanwhile apprehensive on the likelihood of a strict code coming into effect soon. Said Dr Subash Arya, a private practising pediatrician: "Encouragement of breast milk should be banned but not advertising. It would be short-sighted of us to dismiss multinationals. We needed them at one time. The Government should try to restrict advertising to medical professions. If they want to curb sales they should first educate the public and doctors."Dr Arya's apprehension was shared by other pediatricians. Dr S.K. Bhargava. head of the Pediatrics Department in Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi exclaimed: "I need money to run my magazine (Indian Pediatrics, a journal). Where am I going to get that from? I have to solely rely on the advertisements I get. The Government should not ban advertising totally."Meanwhile, the baby food manufacturers are in strong opposition to the WHO directives to curb advertising and promotion. Said T. R. Kapoor, the regional manager of Glaxo in Delhi: "More than 50 per cent of our product goes for table use." and went on to add, "We do hardly any rural marketing as such, so the WHO's allegations are totally unjustified."Nestle, the international giant, which has a considerably large share in the world baby food market, were, however, reluctant to comment on the subject in the face of adverse publicity they have received in this country as well as abroad.In principle, India is committed to the WHO code, which completely bans any form of sales promotion, direct or indirect, to the public or to health personnel. Anything short of this would mean that it has buckled in to the pressure from the IFI lobby.But even if the WHO regulations become mandatory, the most vulnerable flank in baby food promotion-the pediatricians will remain wide open and difficult to monitor. Their attitude is best summed up by the pediatricians who are responsible for bringing out the lap's journal.Unless the Government firmly decides to hit the IFI lobbies right where it hurts- in their wallets-by reducing licenced capacities, and unless it initiates an intensive campaign to promote breast feeding, the proliferation of commercogenic poisoning is likely to continue, while the Government looks the other way.Published By: AtMigration Published On: Nov 18, 2013 08:19 IST--- ENDS ---

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Business booms for baby food manufacturers in absence of govt regulations

With dissenting votes from the US, Chad and Bangladesh the stringent code devised by the World Health Organisation to control breast milk substitutes fell just short of a mandatory regulation.

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