Released on: 08 November 2024
Responding to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) interim report on the infant and follow-on formula milk market study, Maxine Palmer, Head of Service Development at NCT, said:
“Companies are exploiting new parents who rely on formula milk to feed their baby. With skyrocketing prices, lack of accountability, regulations and guidance in place for formula milk providers, parents are torn between the ‘best’ product to feed their baby and the essential costs of living.
“New parents often make early decisions on formula milks in vulnerable situations, immediately after birth, often in hospital, and without access to accurate and accessible information on their options.
“The important public health message – that all infant formulas meet their baby’s nutritional needs – is getting lost through the influence of formula milk branding and marketing.
“This can lead new parents to spend more than they need on products promoted as ‘premium’ or ‘advanced’ that must and do contain the same nutritional benefits as the least expensive.
“The impact of rising prices of formula milk is taking a dangerous toll on the most vulnerable parents in our society. Parents are facing difficult choices every day, like feeding their baby or heating their home. No parent should be put in a position where they are exploited into buying more expensive formula milks through misleading branding and marketing tactics.
“Parents need equitable access to clear, evidence-based information on formula milk that is free from advertising or branding bias. This must be coupled with realistic prices that more parents can afford. We fully welcome the recommendations in the report for strengthening labelling and advertising rules and greater restrictions on branding, so that parents feel confident in how they feed their baby.”
