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Baby Milk Action

Email update 4 September 2016

Wining and dining: health workers invited to Nestlé Swiss HQ to hear about formula

Would your health worker accept an overseas trip, complete with vineyard tour and dinner, from a formula company? Would you, if you are a health worker?

Formula marketing practices in the UK have become more aggressive since Nestlé took over the SMA brand in 2012. It recruited a network of Clinical Representatives tasked with gaining "brand endorsements" and "opportunities for the SMA brand and Nestlé Nutrition" by targeting health workers, particularly "opinion leaders".

When pregnant women and parents look to health workers for support they need to know they are independent. How independent will they be if they take up an offer for a three-day trip to Switzerland to learn about Nestlé's new SMA Pro formula?

As we see in other countries, the event appears to be more of an opportunity to wine and dine opinion leaders - literally, as the middle day of the programme involves a free afternoon and a trip to a vineyard for dinner.

Nestlé has also recruited parenting bloggers to promote its new formula. Its Public Relations company has press released information, suggesting journalists interview a celebrity television doctor.

Nestlé is promoting its new formula as having "protein profile closer to breastmilk". It made EXACTLY the same claim about its previous product, but has since told health workers that babies fed on it had "protein intake in excess of requirements”.

Health workers and parents need independent, objective information, free from commercial pressure.

Find out more about these and other practices in our new report: UK Monitoring 2016.

This includes analysis of how the UK leaving the European Union will impact on the regulation of formula marketing - and action that politicians can take.

http://www.babymilkaction.org/archives/10663

If you have been approached by a Clinical Representative - or find that your health worker has - please let us know.


Vote at AGM by UK paediatricians to refuse formula company sponsorship must be confirmed by full membership of RCPCH

Baby and paediatrician

Members of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) voted to refuse funding from formula companies at their AGM on 27 April 2016. Nestlé was present at the Conference promoting its SMA formula.

The vote was welcomed in the UK and internationally.

However, the vote is only advisory to the RCPCH Council. Members are being given another chance to give their views in an online vote terminating on 6 September.

Those calling for an end to sponsorship by baby feeding companies and for an end to formula promotion at the conference and in RCPCH publications ask members to support OPTION 2 in response to all questions.

This is in line with the motion adopted at the AGM, which stated:

In order for RCPCH as a professional body to avoid institutional conflicts of interest and thus maintain its reputation as an unbiased, independent educator and advocate for child health, the College should decline any commercial transactions or any other kind of funding or support from all companies that market products within the scope of the WHO Code on the marketing of breast milk substitutes.

For further details, see:
http://www.babymilkaction.org/archives/10675

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(photo: shutterstock).

Update newsletter, Year Report and accounts available online

Baby Milk Action Members who ask to receive information by post have just been sent our UK Monitoring 2016 report, Year Report and other information.

These are also available online.

Our Year Reports and accounts are available here.

The monitoring report is included in our Update 47 newsletter, which you can access at:
http://www.babymilkaction.org/news/update/update-47

We will continue to add key articles to the newsletter during the year. Also see our blogs and press releases.

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Members are essential for Baby Milk Action's continued operation. You help us to hold some of the world's most powerful corporations to account.

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http://www.babymilkaction.org/join

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http://www.babymilkaction.org/donate

Would you like your picture to feature in the IBFAN breastfeeding calendar?

Baby Milk Action is finalising the selection of photos for the next IBFAN Breastfeeding Calendar, shortly to go to the printers.

If you have a picture you would like to submit for consideration for this and future calendars, please send it to us in a reply to this email. We are looking for full colour, landscape format pictures in high resolution for printing A4 size.

Pictures are reviewed by the IBFAN groups that sell the calendar to raise funds for their work so we cannot guarantee your picture will be used, but all contributions are much appreciated.

You can buy past issues of the calendar at discount prices. The pictures are often used by mother support groups. Visit our Virtual Shop.

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