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and undermining Breastfeeding
Breaking the LawSeries 5 (2013)
Baby Food Companies Continue to
Mislead Mothers
Series 5 (2013)Page 1
A plethora on benefits of breastfeeding have been
documented beyond doubt and so are the dangers of
inappropriate feeding practices/artificial feeding in the form
of increased risk of diseases (diarrhoea, pneumonia,
newborn infections etc.) and death. More recently long term
benefits of breastfeeding that include prevention of non
communicable diseases (NCDs) like obesity, diabetes and
heart diseases makes this more important as a public health
intervention.
At the same time breastfeeding
practices are threatened by
aggressive promotion of baby
foods. Keeping such practices in
v i e w a n d t h e d e c l i n i n g
breastfeeding rates across the
globe, World Health Assembly
adopted the International Code of
Marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes
in 1981. Since then many countries
in the world have enacted national
legislations. India enacted the Infant
Milk Substitutes Feeding Bottles,
and Infant Foods (Regulation of
Production, Supply and Distribution) Act 1992, and
Amendment Act 2003 (IMS Act). The Act prohibits all forms
of promotion and advertisements of Infant Milk Substitutes,
Feeding Bottles, and Infant Foods. The Act also prohibits
providing sponsorship, gifts, fellowship and any pecuniary
benefits to health care providers and their associations.
However, baby food companies constantly find new ways to
influence pregnant and lactating women to increase sales of
their products. They often portray the products to be
'healthy' and more convenient to consume and in the
process, undermine breastfeeding practices.
Companies have understood the importance of trust and
confidence common people have in doctors, therefore they
target them as effective channel to reach out to pregnant
and lactating women as well as other family members.
New age round the clock marketing through e-Marketing
websites are increasingly becoming
latest tool for aggressive promotion.
Despite 20 years of this law, it is
under constant threat from baby
food companies risking health of
million of infants. This situation
demands that the Government of
India should act quickly and enforce
this law effectively to end such
promotions to save mothers and
children. This is the stated objective
of the IMS Act.
This “Breaking the law” series
highlights the provisions of IMS Act and provides several
examples of promotional techniques used by online
marketing web-portals and manufacturers. These include
advertising with health claims and offering discounts etc.
Some examples of sponsoring doctors meetings and use of
health care systems have also been cited.
Central Coordinator
Dr. Arun Gupta
Series 5 (2013)Page 2
According to India today, Rise in online shopping in India
2011, India has more than 100 million Internet users, out
of which around 50 million opted for online purchases in 2011.
Various portals are now marketing baby foods (Infant milk
substitutes, infant foods) and feeding bottles hence they also
come under the preview of the IMS Act.
We did an internet search to find out whether these e-
Marketing sites are in compliance with various provisions of the
IMS Act. It was found that a variety of promotional techniques
like advertising using a visual of the product, promotion with
health claims, offer of discounts, incentives with free combo
offers etc. are being used. Obviously these are intended to
increase the saleability of these products and violate provisions
of the IMS Act. Some of such e-Marketing sites we examined are:
http://www.babyoye.com
http://www.healthkart.com
http://www.hoopos.com
Http://www.firstcry.com
The analysis of e-Marketing was done between Feb 2013 to May
2013. Some other examples of violations of the IMS Act
provisions have also been detected. These are given below :
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Provisions of the IMS Act
The IMS Act prescribes regulations and rules for
marketing of infant milk substitutes, infant foods and feeding
bottles. Some salient features under various sections of this
special law are given below:
Ban promotion or advertisement to the public
Prohibits giving incentives
Restricts donation of products, educational
materials or equipment's.
Prescribes guidelines for labelling
Ensures accurate information through
educational materials
Bans promotions and displays in hospitals,
clinics, and chemist shops etc.
Ban direct or indirect benefits to health workers
or their associations
Ban commission on sales
The IMS Act has prescribed penalties in the form of fines and
imprisonment on violation of the Act
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Section 3:
Section 4:
Section 5:
Section 6:
Section 7:
Section 8:
Section 9:
Section 10:
1. e-Marketing on the Rise!
‘Advertisement' is defined in IMS Act as
Section 3 (a) of IMS Act says, No person shall -
Inspite of a complete prohibition of advertisement of
products under provision of IMS Act, baby food products
are being advertised on several e-Marketing websites with
photographs and promotional text. (See picture 1-4)
“any notice, circular,
label, wrapper or any other document or visible
representation or announcement made by means of any light,
sound, smoke or gas or by means of electronic transmission or
by audio or visual transmission.”
“advertise, or
take part in the publication of any advertisement, for the
distribution, sale or supply of infant milk substitutes, feeding
bottles or infant foods”
Series 5 (2013)Page 3
Picture 1: babyoye.com, advertises the “Nestle Cerelac Stage 1
Wheat Apple” for 6+ months of infants
VIOLATIO
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Picture 2: firstcry.com, advertises the “Similac - Infant Formula
Stage -1” for 0-6 months of infants
Picture 3: healthkart.com, advertises the “Nestlé Nan Pro
Infant Formula Powder Stage 1 Refill Pack” for upto 6 months of
infants
Picture 4: babyoye.com, advertises baby feeding bottles from
various brands, which are available in different price range,
attractive colours and nipples made of hygienic silicon.
Http://www.babyoye.com/nestle-cerelac-stage-1-wheat-apple-refill-300-gms.html Http://www.firstcry.com/similac/similac-infant-formula-stage-1-400-grams/229721/product-detail
Http://www.healthkart.com/product/nestl%C3%A9-nan-pro-infant-formula-powder-stage-1-refill-pack/BAB032?productReferrerId=9&productPosition=1/19
Http://www.babyoye.com/catalogsearch/result/?cat=&q=bottle%20feeding
VIOLATIO
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Series 5 (2013)Page 4
2. Promotion Unlimited!
IMS Act defines
Promotion continues unlimited. Examples are below.
IMS Act defines means
Babyoye.com and firstcry.com promotes the “HEINZ
Breakfast Creamy Oat Porridge Cereal” and “HEINZ Baby
Breakfast - Oat and Apple Cereal” on their websites.
Promoting the use of cereal foods at 4+ months of age is
illegal, unscientific and misleading the mothers. This is
serious violation of IMS Act which strictly prohibits
promotion of any products for babies below 2 years of age.
(See picture 5-6)
“promotion”
(HEINZ
Cereals for 4+ of Infant)
means to employ directly or
indirectly any method of encouraging any person to purchase
or use infant milk substitute, feeding bottle or infant food.
any food (by whatever
name called) being marketed or otherwise represented as a
complement to mother’s milk to meet the growing nutritional
needs of the infant after the age of six months and up to the
age of two years.
a. Promotion with misleading Information
“infant food”
Http://www.babyoye.com/heinz-breakfast-creamy-oat-porridge-cereal-125-g.html
VIOLATIO
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Picture 5: babyoye.com, promtes the “HEINZ
Breakfast Creamy Oat Porridge Cereal” for 4+ months
of infants.
Picture 6: firstcry.com, promotes the “Heinz-Baby
Breakfast - Oat & Apple Cereal” for 4+ months of infants.
Http://www.firstcry.com/heinz/heinz-baby-breakfast-oat-and-apple-cereal/1003/product-detail
b. Use of Health Claims
Section 3 (b) of IMS Act says, No person shall-
Health claims are used to lure unsuspecting buyers to purchase
the product. It is evident that e-Marketing sites are using
unsubstantiated claims, in an attempt to convince parents that
the infant milk substitutes and infant foods provide nutrients
which can contribute in infant growth and development,
immune system, healthy vision, strong bone, easy to digest, DNA
synthesis and brain cell growth etc. Such claims are misleading
and distorts parent's perceptions of the safety and nutritional
values of individual ingredients and influences the mothers to go
for using these products and therefore risk infant's health. (See
picture 7-8)
“give an
impression or create a belief in any manner that feeding of infant
milk substitutes and infant foods are equivalent to, or better
than, mother's milk.”
Series 5 (2013)Page 5
Http://www.babyoye.com/nestle-nan-pro-1-infant-formula-refill-400-gms.html
VIOLATIO
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PreBlend:
-A protein blend containing whey protein. NAN Pro 1 is predominant in whey protein.
Whey proteins are easy to digest. The protein content is suitably modified to reduce
the overload on infant’s kidneys.
Immunonutrients:
-Nutrients like Nucleotides, Zinc, Selenium, Vitamin A and C support the immune
system.
Bifidogenic:
-Bifidobacteria are predominant in the gut of infant fed on breast milk. NAN Pro 1
contains a combination of nutrients that support the growth of bifidobacteria. A
healthy gut flora helps in supporting the immune system.
LA/ALA:
-LA (omega 6 fatty acid {FA} & ALA (omega 3 FA) are precursors of ARA and DHA
which are important for defence system.
-ALA, Iron & lodline helps in brain development. Vitamin A contributes to healthy
vision
Picture 7: babyoye.com, promotes “Nestle Nan Pro 1” Infant Formula with health claims
VIOLATIO
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Features:
-Spray dried formula
-Contains whey protein which is easier to digest and
nutrients that support growth and brain development
-Essential fatty acids LA, ALA and Choline contribute
to the structural building blocks of the brain
-Iron and iodine help in Brain Development and
VitaminAcontributes to Healthy Vision
-Contains 12 minerals and 14 vitamins
Picture 8: babyoye.com, promotes “Nestle Lactogen Stage 1 Infant Formula” with health claims
Http://www.babyoye.com/nestle-lactogen-stage-1-infant-formula-tin-400-gms.html
c. Offering Discounts
Section 3 (c) of IMS Act says,
Section 4 (c) of IMS Act says,
No person shall-
No person shall-
Despite the prohibition by IMS Act for offering inducement of
any kind, the companies and distributors are offering incentives
and cash loyalty etc. to generate more sales.
While analyzing contents of the e-Marketing sites, it was noted
that online shopping stores are offering discounts on purchase of
feeding bottles and baby food products. These are in the form of
cash or combo packs at a better price with savings for increasing
their sale and use. ( See picture 9-11)
“take part in the
promotion of infant milk substitutes, feeding bottles or infant
foods.”
“offer inducement
of any other kind, for the purpose of promoting the use or sale of
infant milk substitutes or feeding bottles or infant foods.”
Http://www.firstcry.com/combopack.aspx?proid=927
VIOLATIO
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Picture 10: firstcry.com offer a discount of 10% for complete
health baby food combo pack consisting of Heinz breakfast
fruits with yogurts cereals, Heinz puree fruity pear, Gerber
banana with apples & pear and Heinz creamed porridge.
VIOLATIO
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Picture 9: fisrtcry.com offer numbers of discounts on different brands of feeding bottles
Picture 11: hoopos.com is offering discount by means of
showing a saving of Rs. 145.38 on the purchase of a combo
pack of Cerelac wheat orange with baby cloths detergent.
Series 5 (2013)Page 6
d. Offering Gifts
Despite the prohibition by IMS Act for offering inducement of
any kind, website is offering gifts and cash loyalty scheme on
online purchasing of products, which can be redeemed against
future orders. This is another marketing strategy to attract the
mothers for repeated purchase for want of higher loyalty cash
points which in-turn creates regular customer base for the
companies. (See picture 12, 13)
Series 5 (2013)Page 7
Http://www.firstcry.com/combopack.aspx?proid=926Http://www.firstcry.com/combopack.aspx?proid=1077
Picture 12: firstcry.com offer free Baby on Board Game with 3
packs of Heinz infant food products (2 packs of Heinz baby
breakfast and 1 pack of Heinz baby dinner) for 4+ and 7+
months of infants.
VIOLATIO
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3. Misusing Health Care SystemsHealth professionals and health clinics are the most effective
routes frequently adopted by the infant food companies to
promote their products. Through this channel they may
indirectly reach to the mothers and infants.
Inspite of a prohibition for such promotions through health
care facilities, baby food (infant milk substitutes and infant
foods) manufacturers aggressively indulge in activities to
violate the IMS Act. As an example:
No person shall-
We found the display in a pediatric clinic in Varanasi in the
waiting room showing picture of mother with her chubby
baby with a message
clearly
targeting the innocent mothers visiting the health centre.
This is educational
programme claiming to create a strong generation by
providing healthy nutrition to the infants. Nestle misuses the
health systems.
a. Poster Display at Health Clinics
Section 8 (1) of IMS Act says,
“Your little one's world is growing, so is
her power for protection against infections!!”
“Nestle Start Healthy Stay Healthy”
“use any health
care system for the display of placards or posters relating to,
or for the distribution of, materials for the purpose of
promoting the use or sale of infant milk substitutes or feeding
bottles or infant foods.”
Photo by: BPNI
VIOLATIO
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Picture 13: firstcry.com offer Mee Mee Non Spill cup with 3
packs of Heinz infant food products (2 packs of Heinz baby
breakfast and 1 pack of Heinz baby dinner) for 4+ month of
infants.
?Who provided funds for the events
Who provided logistic support
What is the relation of NNI and Nestle
Series 5 (2013)Page 8
b. Conducting Seminar/ Symposium for Doctors
Section 9 (2) of the IMS Act says-
It's a matter of serious concern that despite such explicit
provisions in the IMS Act and clear instructions by the
Government of India. See the letter jointly signed by the
Ministry of Women and Child Development and the Ministry
of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India sent to
Chief Secretaries of the states on 17th August, 2010 (D.O.
No.5-20/2010-ND/Tech).
Nestle is still continuing with organising such events,
providing luxurious ambience, gifts and refreshment to
participants.
A scientific conference was organized by the Nestle Nutrition
Institute (NNI) with the collaboration of Guwahati Obstetric
& Gynaecology Society on “Nutrition in first 1000 days of life”
at Hotel Grand Starline, G.S. Road, Christian Basti, Opp-
Mizrom House, Guwahati on 10th March 2013. President of
Guwahati Obstetric & Gynecology Society and Head of
Department of Paediatrics, Guwahati Medical College and
Hospital (GMCH), were invited as guest speakers in this
conference.
Another scientific conference was organized for medical and
health professionals by the Nestle Nutrition Institute ( NNI)
on “Role of Nutrition during Pregnancy & Feeding of the LBW
Infants” at Ludhiana on 16th March 2013 at Hotel Park Plaza,
Kohinoor Hall, Firozepur Road. Dr. Promila Jindal, Professor &
Head Dept. of OBS. & Gynae. DMC & Hospital, Ludhiana and
Dr. V idya Gupta, Senior Consultant Neonatologist
Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, New Delhi were invited as guest
speakers in this conference.
“No producer, supplier or
distributor referred to in sub-section (1), shall offer or give any
contribution or pecuniary benefit to a health worker or any
association of health workers, including funding of seminar,
meeting, conferences, educational course, contest,
fellowship, research work or sponsorship.”
http://bpni.org/IMSACT/Joint_MOH_WCD_Ltr_IMS_Act.pdf
Companies in Denial
Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India
(BPNI) organised a press conference on the
31 of July 2013 revealing that baby food
companies are using Indian e-Marketing portals to
advertise and promote their products, which is
illegal under the IMS Act. BPNI issued a press
release titled, “ Breaking the
Rules, misleading moms”
When contacted by Thomson Reuters Foundation,
the three companies said the allegations against
them were incorrect.
Nestle India said, "Nestle India does not have any
contract and/or commercial relationship with any
external websites for its infant nutrition products and we
do not supply to them,"
Abbott said that while it sells its products to a number of
different channels and distributors, all are legally obliged
to abide by the law.
Babyoye.com, which sells both Nestle and Abbott
products for babies and infants and promotes health
claims on its site, said it sourced products directly from the
brands or their authorised partners.
"For sensitive products associated with baby feeding we
make it a point to ensure that we do not promote them in
any of our campaigns. All feeding products pages have an
explicit statement promoting breast-feeding," said a
statement from babyoye.com's CEO Sanjay Nadkarni.
Heinz's Vice President for Corporate Affairs Mohan V
denied the allegations against the company, saying that
Heinz neither manufactured nor sold infant food products
in India.
He suggested that the products, which were made in
England, were being "smuggled" into India and sold to the
websites by a third party.
Just before the press conference, BPNI purchased a packet
of Heinz-Baby Breakfast Oat & Apple Cereal from
firstcry.com, the online baby and kid's stores by making an
online payment of Rs. 400/- and the product was delivered
to BPNI in week time with a delivery receipt from Digital
Age Retail Pvt. Ltd. Gate No. 53/1, Behind New Babi Da
Dhaba, Village Kuruli, Chakan, Pune.
The import of food products is governed by the Food Safety
and Standard Authority of India and thus violates the
under the Section 25-
Provisions relating to import, which says-
st
Heinz, Nestle, Abbot:
This confirms the
availability of Heinz products in Indian market for sale.
Food
Safety and Standard Act, 2006
“All imports of articles of food to be subject to this Act-(1)
No persons shall import into India-
I. any unsafe or misbranded or sub-standard food or
food containing extraneous matter;
II. any article of food in contravention of any other
provision of this act or of any rule or regulation made
there under or any other like IMS Act.
Series 5 (2013)Page 9
Media expose
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Breastfeeding week kicks off amid concerns over unlawful
tactics by baby food companies, DownToEarth , Aug 2,
2013
India to probe claims multinationals break baby milk law,
REUTERS, 1 Aug 2013
India to probe claims multinationals break baby milk law,
Thomson Reuters Foundation, 1 Aug 2013
Baby food giants Heinz, Nestle and Abbott violating
promotional parameters, allege activists in India , ANI,
Aug 1, 2013
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/breastfeeding-
week-kicks-amid-concerns-over-unlawful-tactics-baby-
food-companies
http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/08/01/india-baby-mil-
mncs-law-idINDEE9700E420130801
Http://www.trust.org/item/20130801154021-aq4e6/
?source=hpeditorial&siteVersion=mobile
http://www.aninews.in/videogallery8/13941-baby-food-
giants-heinz-nestle-and-abbott-violating-promotional-
parameters-allege-activists-in-indi.html
Series 5 (2013)Page 10
We Continue to Report and Follow-up
BPNI is regularly monitoring and reporting the compliance
with the IMS Act for the last 21 years. BPNI follows up
with the Government of India for effective enforcement of the
IMS Act.
Therefore as a part of internet search BPNI continue to calls
upon the Ministry of Women and Child Development,
Government of India:
i. To intervene with the Ministry of Communication and
Information Technology to get the ban on advertisements
and offers of discounts on products under the scope of the
IMS Act and Regulate e-Marketing.
ii. To pursue the matter with Ministry of Company Affair to
ensure effective implementation of the IMS Act.
iii. To interact with the Ministry of Import and Export, so that
at the time of import, labeling regulations are implied on
baby food products as per the Indian Law.
iv. To init iate legal act ion against the website
www.firstcry.com and Heinz Co.Ltd.UK for misleading
labeling and promotion on the website.
v. To ask for investigation on Mr. Mohan V claim for smuggling
of Heinz products in India by competent law enforcing
agencies.
Even as any form of promotion of infant milk substitutes, infant foods and feeding bottles is prohibited under the
IMS Act, baby food manufactures and marketing companies continue violate the IMS Act through advertisement,
promotion with health claims, offer of discounts and gifts etc. They also convey unscientific and deceptive
information to mothers. This is nothing else but to increase the salability of the products and profits.
These findings are just a tip of the iceberg and a lot more must be happening that goes unreported. There is an
urgent need to take action to stop misleading promotion, which is known to influence mothers and displace healthy
eating practices.
Just do not get carried away with attractive promotional offers health claims by the baby food companies.
Refuse to buy processed artificial baby food products and spread awareness on breastfeeding practices.
Reject discounts and other offers as these violate a law.
Refuse sponsorship / gifts from baby food manufactures.
Refuse to participate in conferences sponsored or organised by baby food companies or their front organizations.
Disseminate accurate information on optimal infant feeding practices on systematic, daily basis in local
languages.
Enforce IMS Act and appoint nodal officers at state and district level.
Launch a report of the compliance with IMS Act in each state.
Public - what can you do?
Health Professional - what you can do?
Governments- what you can do?
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Way forward…..
Series 5 (2013)Page 11
Series 5 (2013)Page 12
Breastfeeding Promotion Network of IndiaBP-33, Pitampura, Delhi-110 034Tel: 91-11-27343608, 42683059. Fax: 91-11-27343606e-mail: [email protected]
Compiled and Edited by
Reviewed by
Designed by
Dr. Neelima Thakur
Dr. Arun Gupta, Dr. JP Dadhich,Dr. Shoba Suri, Nupur Bidla, Manish Kumar
Amit Dahiya
BPNI is a registered, independent, non-profit, national organisation that works towards protecting, promoting and supporting breastfeeding and appropriate complementary feeding of infants and young children. BPNIworks through advocacy, social mobilization, information sharing, education, research, training and monitoring the company compliance with the IMS Act. BPNI is the Regional Focal Point for South Asia for the WorldAlliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) and Regional Coordinating Office for International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN) Asia
As,a policy,BPNI does not accept funds of any kind from the companies producing infant milk substitute,feeding bottles,related equipments,or infant foods (cereal foods) or from those who have been ever found to violatethe IMS Act or the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk-Substitute or from organization/ industry having conflict of interest.
Information Sheet No. 28
The Concept: The form is inspired by the universal Yin and Yang, a symbol of the balance of nature. This
symbol is interpreted as the fine balance of health and vitality achieved through breastfeeding. The symbol
forms the body of a mother holding her child while the head is composed of a flaming orange bindi
representing the power and aura of the empowered woman.