The tables below give details of some recent violations. The date when the violation was last reported to Baby Milk Action or confirmed to be current is given. The violation reference is for Baby Milk Action's records. Please quote it if forwarding correspondence to us, if possible.

• Numico gifts to healthworkers in Hungary
• Nestlé and free supplies of infant formula in Argentina
• Hipp's irresponsible marketing of teas and juices endangers health

Numico gifts to healthworkers in Hungary

Company	Item	Date	Violation Reference
Numico	T-shirts and other gifts given to health workers	July 1999	comp/99/10

Key points for letters to the man responsible:

Numico has distributed t-shirts, bearing the Nutricia name and promoting Mildibé breastmilk substitutes (infant formula and follow-on formula), to healthworkers in Hungary. Yet Article 7.3 of the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes states: "No financial or material inducements to promote products within the scope of this Code should be offered by manufacturers or distributors to health workers..." Can Numico explain why it has ignored this provision by producing and distributing the t-shirts and other items, such as ties? Anyone wearing one of these t-shirts will become a walking advertisement for Mildibé breastmilk substitutes. Yet Article 5.1 of the International Code states: "There should be no advertising or other form of promotion to the general public of products within the scope of this Code." Will Numico give an undertaking to destroy all stocks of promotional materials, such as its t-shirts, and ensure that all staff, in Hungary and elsewhere, are aware that such materials violate the International Code.

Violation	Complain to
Inducements are banned by Article 7.3. Promotion of products is banned by Article 5.1.	Mr. Klaas de Jonge, Director, Numico, Rokkeveemseweg 49, 2712 PJ Zoetermeet, Netherlands. Fax: +31 79 3539 620

Nestlé and free supplies of infant formula in Argentina.

Company	Item	Date	Violation Reference
Nestlé	Free supplies of infant formula and other breastmilk substitutes	June 1999	comp/99/11

Background:

Following a campaign by our partners in the International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN) in Argentina, Nestlé has stated that it will no longer provide free supplies of infant formula and other breastmilk substitutes to health facilities. Distribution of free supplies has been very effective in persuading mothers and health workers to favour artificial infant feeding and is banned by the World Health Assembly. Nestlé's undertaking, however, is for one year only. (For further information in Spanish see <"http://www.fmed.uba.ar/ibfan/enred/bol_14/14moni.htm">IBFAN Argentina).

Hipp's irresponsible marketing of teas and juices endangers health.

Company	Item	Date	Violation Reference
Hipp	Free samples of high sugar teas and juices labelled for use from as early as one week of age.	July 1999	comp/99/12

On the right is shown a free sample of Hipp infant tea, as distributed to mothers in maternity wards in the Ukraine in June 1999. It is labelled for use from one week of age. If marketed for use before the age of 6 months it will be substituting for breastmilk and should not, therefore, have an idealizing picture of a child and it should have information on the superiority of breastfeeding. These teas are high sugar (91.3%) and detrimental to health. Hipp's warning that they can cause dental caries is of little use as, like the rest of the text, it only appears in German.

Hipp has long been criticised for marketing teas and juices for feeding to infants as young as one week of age. The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) recommend exclusive breastfeeding for about the first 6 months of life. Introduction of any other foods or drinks increases the risk of sickness and death.

Hipp has been called on to change the labels of its teas and juices so that they do not undermine exclusive breastfeeding and has not only ignored these requests, it is embarking on a new aggressive marketing campaign.

The sugar content of Hipp drinks is also a concern. The UK Government Committee on Medical Aspects of Food Policy states: "weaning foods should usually be free of, or low in, non-milk extrinsic sugars including sugars derived from fruit juices and fruit concentrates." Hipp's children tea, labelled for use from one week of age, is 91.3% sugar. A warning of the risk of dental caries now appears on labels following a series of court cases against sweetened drink producers, but the drinks remain unnecessary and detrimental to health.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) recommend exclusive breastfeeding for about the first 6 months of life and the World Health Assembly adopted Resolution 47.5 in 1994 stating that use of complementary foods should be fostered "from the age of about 6 months." Why then, is Hipp marketing its teas and juices for use from as young as one week of age? This practice undermines exclusive breastfeeding and endangers infant health. Will Hipp give an undertaking to change all labels to make it clear that these products should not be used before 6 months of age?

The International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes applies to "bottle-fed complementary foods, when marketed or otherwise represented to be suitable, with or without modification, for use as a partial or total replacement of breastmilk." When Hipp teas and juices are marketed for use from before 6 months of age, they are replacing breastmilk and come within the scope of the International Code. Article 5.1 of the Code states: "There should be no advertising or other form of promotion to the general public of products within the scope of this Code." Hipp is violating this and other requirements in many countries. Its activities in the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe and the Balkans are of particular concern.

In Croatia, Latvia, Macedonia and Ukraine, for example, free samples of Hipp teas have been distributed direct to mothers, in some cases in maternity hospitals. Article 5.4 states: "Manufacturers and distributors should not distribute to pregnant women or mothers of infants and young children any gifts of articles or utensils, which may promote the use of breastmilk substitutes or bottle feeding." Article 6.2 states: "No facility of a health care system should be used for the purpose of promoting infant formula or other products within the scope of this code." Will Hipp give an undertaking to act responsibly by stopping all such promotion?

Finally, what steps is Hipp taking to remove sugar from its teas and juices?

Violation	Complain to
Labelling for use before 6 months of age violates Resolution 47.5 and brings them within the scope of the International Code. Promotion of products to the general public is banned by Article 5.1. Promoting products within the health care system is specifically banned by Article 6.2 Giving gifts to mothers is banned by Article 5.4.	Mr. Klaus Hipp, General Manager, Hipp K. G., Postfach 1551, 85265 Pfaffenhofen, Germany. (Fax: +43 7612 76577 201):

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