News • Children's Food Campaign
Manufacturer of baby formula says there is a ‘conspiracy of silence’ around ingredients in bottle milk
Following an investigation by First Steps Nutrition into a new recipe for Aptamil, the UK’s only manufacturer of baby milk says we need a government inquiry into bottle feeding as part of drive to improve childhood obesity.
Danone has recently changed the formulation of its baby milk which has led to complaints from parents saying that it is making their children sick. First Steps Nutrition (who are a member of Sustain) have discovered that Aptamil has changed its whey:casine ratio from 50:50 to 60:40.
In an interview with Food Manufacturer Ross McMahon, the chief executive of Kendal Nutricare (the UK’s only producer of infant formula), said that there needs to be more transparency around ingredients and health implications and that all baby milk formula ingredients should be reviewed by Public Health England; “for a long time, bottle feeding has been a taboo subject. Finally, we can discuss the subject and start to educate consumers on the ingredients that go into the production of baby infant formula.”
First Steps Nutrition say that “many people have been shocked that we have no clear mechanism to hold breastmilk substitute companies to account when there are reports of infants becoming ill or when information about new products is not easily available. There remains an urgent need to create an independent body that has oversight of the breastmilk substitute market in the UK to review both composition, labelling, safety and marketing of products.”
You can read First Steps Nutrition’s practical guide on infant milks in the UK which details the composition of infant formulas.
Sustain’s Children’s Food Campaign champions children’s rights, parent power and government action to improve the food environment children grow up in.
Published Sunday 29 July 2018
Children's Food Campaign: Better food and food teaching for children in schools, and protection of children from junk food marketing are the aims of Sustain's high-profile Children's Food Campaign. We also want clear food labelling that can be understood by everyone, including children.
