increase font size
The infant formula industry has acted “with great responsibility and integrity” by revising its marketing code of practice, says the Infant Nutrition Council (INC) chief executive Jan Carey.
The Code of Practice for Marketing of Infant Formula in New Zealand restricts the advertising and marketing of infant formula products for children up to 12 months of age.
It was revised after INC applied to the Commerce Commission to extend the restriction that applied to products for children up to six months old.
The INC represents most infant formula.
Carey says they sought the restriction because they believed the improved health outcomes that would flow from it would outweigh the detriments arising from the lessening of competition between formula makers.
“We recognised the importance of aligning the marketing practices of infant formula that is the sole source of nutrition for infants up to six months with breast milk substitutes for infants up to the age of 12 months.
“The commission agreed, and their decision underlined exactly what the industry is trying to do – put the health of babies and mothers first.
“The industry has acted, in my view, with great responsibility and integrity by revising the code.
“Our stance is supported by many public health bodies. It aligns with recent guidance from the World Health Assembly and is consistent with the Ministry of Health’s nutrition guidelines for infants.”
The revised code was launched at Parliament on April 30 by Health Minister David Clark and Minister for Food Safety Damien O’Connor.
OPINION: As soon as RNZ realised MP Andrew Hoggard's sister worked for Dairy Companies Association of NZ (DCANZ) and was, shock horror, lobbying government on behalf of its members, it wasted no time accusing him of not managing conflicts of interests.
Manufacturers of infant formula are largely supportive of a proposed new domestic labelling standard for their products.
A trans-Tasman battle is brewing over a proposal to introduce changes to packaging and labelling regulations for infant formula.
The once-lucrative Chinese infant formula market is shrinking.
Abbot Laboratories NZ Limited is recalling specific brands and batches of infant formula product for special dietary use imported from the United States because of possible Cranobacter and Salmonella contamination.
NZPork has appointed Auckland-based Paul Bucknell as its new chair.
The Government claims to have delivered on its election promise to protect productive farmland from emissions trading scheme (ETS) but red meat farmers aren’t happy.
Foot and Mouth Disease outbreaks could have a detrimental impact on any country's rural sector, as seen in the United Kingdom's 2000 outbreak that saw the compulsory slaughter of over six million animals.
The Ministry for the Environment is joining as a national award sponsor in the Ballance Farm Environment Awards (BFEA from next year).
Kiwis are wasting less of their food than they were two years ago, and this has been enough to push New Zealand’s total household food waste bill lower, the 2025 Rabobank KiwiHarvest Food Waste survey has found.
OPINION: Sir Lockwood Smith has clearly and succinctly defined what academic freedom is all about, the boundaries around it and the responsibility that goes with this privilege.
OPINION: Should cows in NZ be microchipped?
OPINION: Legislation being drafted to bring back the controversial trade of live animal exports by sea is getting stuck in the…
