Food bosses look for perfect formula to inform parents and feed baby
PARENTS look likely to get a better picture of what really goes into infant formula.
At the moment, the Food Standards Code requires manufacturers to not include a picture of a baby on the packaging, any picture that idealises formula, or any messages that claim formula is suitable for all infants.
But Food Standards Australia and New Zealand has been reviewing those rules for the past five years and last year released a paper which suggested warning labels could be applied to formula packaging to replace or supplement the ‘‘breast is best’’ messages.
Australia and New Zealand are signatories to the World Health Organisation’s international code of marketing of breast milk substitutes in New Zealand, which states that there should be no advertising or other form of promotion of formula to babies under six months.
But Jan Carey, chief executive of the Infant Nutrition Council, which represents major manufacturers and marketers of infant formula on both sides of the Tasman, said surveys had shown the rules were too restrictive and parents weren’t getting sufficient information. Forty per cent said they were not aware of the ingredients in formula. Just 3 per cent thought the labels gave them enough information.
‘‘There is a lot of difference between the products. It’s a highly regulated food product that is the sole source of nutrition for our most vulnerable population.’’
Carey said that innovation should not be discouraged but today’s rules made it hard to get that information out.
‘‘We want to be able to communicate these ingredients on the front of the can to let people know these have different things that might be suitable.’’
The review was an opportunity for ‘‘more balanced information’’ to go on the front of formula packs.
FSANZ expects to release another consultation paper late this year and the project to take another 12 to 18 months to complete.