Mon 15 Apr 2019, 08:15 AM | Posted by editor
LETTER from Mark Langabeer, Newton Abbot CLP (personal capacity)
The TV programme Dispatches investigated the underhand practices of the formula milk companies. The formula milk industry is worth around £450million, with a range of brands for mothers who are unable or choose not to breast feed. Dispatches compared the price of Sainsbury’s formula with Aptamil, a brand leader. The cost of six months worth of Sainsbury’s product was £176, Aptamil was £789. Worldwide, formula milk companies spend £5billion on advertising, which equates to £36 per child. However, the nutritional value of the products are exactly the same. Clearly the advertising works.
The next scam the companies employ is false claims about some of the products branded. The presenter interviewed a consultant paediatrician at Imperial College who undertakes trials on new ingredients in the formula; In one case as to whether or not the new product reduced eczema and other allergies. The results were disappointing and proved not to help those that suffer from eczema. He later discovered that the company were advertising otherwise. He believed that existing regulations were not sufficient to prevent these false claims by formula companies.
Finally, Dispatches revealed that a third of all the 195 Clinical Commissioning Groups have breached the World Health Organisation guidance on receiving gifts and sponsorship from the multi-national companies. The BMA have recently stopped the advertising of formula milk companies. The programme interviewed a former Director of WHO and expressed concern about the influence that the formula companies have within the NHS.
The programme quoted UNICEF, who stated that multi-nationals were pushing the boundaries of current regulations and new legislation was requried. I would argue that no amount of regulation will stop these companies from putting profit before people’s needs. Labour must bring these multi-nationals into public ownership to prevent these exploitative practices from continuing
