IBFAN Press Release19.5.15 for PDF WHO opens the doors wide to corporate influence 68th World Health Assembly, UN Palais, Geneva 18th May 2015 The long-running debate about how WHO interacts with corporations is coming to crisis point. In the context of its…
Nestle recruiting staff to break the Code in the UK
Nestlé entered the UK with the takeover of the SMA brand in 2012. The aggressive methods it uses around the world as it competes with Danone (owner of Aptamil, Cow & Gate and Nutricia) have now reached these shores. Nestlé…
Nestle involvement in Toronto CivicAction better city boot camp slammed
Today (28 April 2015) a Nestlé executive is due to be guest speaker at an event in Toronto, Canada, called “Better City Boot Camp” on the topic of nutrition in the first 1000 days from conception run by an organisation called…
Nestle Chairman and board exposed by IBFAN at shareholder meeting
Baby Milk Action press release 16 April 2015 Members of the International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN) stood up in front of 2,446 shareholders at Nestlé’s annual meeting on 16 April to call on Nestlé Chairman Peter Brabeck-Letmathé to change…
Gates Foundation and clarification on IBFAN funding policy
Below are some media and research articles about the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) along with a Clarification of IBFAN’s funding policy. Don’t reduce the global poor to potential consumers By treating health care as a commodity, Gates…
New EU rules will trick parents into buying expensive and unnecessary products that will fuel the obesity crisis
PDF: IBFANBFLG EU PR 24.2.15v3 CLICK HERE for BFLG briefing PRESS RELEASE 24 February 2015 New EU rules will trick parents into buying expensive and unnecessary products that will fuel the obesity crisis Health advocates from across Europe have decried new rules…
Nestle forced to remove misleading SMA claims following Baby Milk Action complaint
Baby Milk Action press release 15 December 2014 Change.org petition campaign calling for customers to be informed they were misled Nestlé has finally removed some misleading claims from its website for SMA Toddler Milk following complaints by Baby Milk Action…
Nestle investigated for ignoring ASA ruling
Update 15 December 2014: Nestle’s forced to remove misleading SMA claims following Baby Milk Action complaint In October we won a case at the UK Advertising Standards Authority over a misleading promotion for Nestlé SMA Toddler Milk advertising. This had been…
Trade vs Health – global meeting fails to safeguard infant and young child health
Trade vs Health – global meeting fails to safeguard infant and young child health Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary UsesBali, Indonesia 24-28th November 2014 CLICK HERE for PDF version Infant and young child feeding was once…
Nestle India summoned for violating IMS Act
Nestle India summoned for violating IMS Act – Hindustan Times CLICK HERE http://www.hindustantimes.com/punjab/chandigarh/nestle-india-summoned-for-violating-ims-act/article1-1279876.aspx Sunday, November 02, 2014 HT Correspondent , Hindustan Times Rohtak, October 28, 2014 Nestle India summoned for violating IMS Act Chief judicial magistrate Lokesh Gupta, on Tuesday,…
Nestlé’s Gerber accused of false claims
WTOP ANNE FLAHERTY Associated Press 1st November 2014 CLICK here for the full story WASHINGTON (AP) — Baby-food maker Gerber [owned by Nestlé] is being accused by the government of claiming falsely that its Good Start Gentle formula…
Nestle CSV Global Forum with UNCTAD – the attempted corporate takeover of policy making
Nestlé Creating Shared Value Global Forum took place on 9 October. We posted key facts to the #CSVForum twitter feed as others tweeted about pronouncements from Nestlé’s Chairman, Peter Brabeck-Letmathé, and CEO, Paul Bulcke, apparently taken in by two executives who are trying…
Nestle using food banks in Canada to push formula
Companies are very keen to be seen to be addressing inequalities – and what better way to do this than to support food banks, breakfast clubs and other philanthropic ventures – using them to promote their brands of junk foods…
ASA ruling: ASDA and Nestle misled parents with toddler milk promotion
Baby Milk Action press release 15 October 2014 Click here to sign the petition calling on ASDA and Nestlé to inform the customers they misled See ASA ruling A14-263404on the ASA website. Update 15 December 2014: Nestle’s forced to remove misleading SMA claims following…
Nestle – part of the solution or part of the problem?
Nestlé CEO, Mr Paul Bulcke, has posted an opinion piece in Huffington Post – Business: Part of the Problem? No, Part of the Solution. Comments are invited, but the one I posted has not appeared to the public. So it is…
No more for Nespresso for George Clooney ?
20 Minutes – unofficial translation from an article in German that appeared in the Swiss Paper 20 Minutes. No more for Nespresso for George Clooney ? 3rd October 2014His wife should exert pressure on Clooney not to advertise for Nestlé anymore.…
Nestle bra cam? Why?
Several people contacted me on Tuesday about Nestlé’s public relations stunt designed to show that people stare at women’s breasts. The Daily Mail newspaper reported: ‘How many times a day are YOUR breasts stared at? Hidden ‘bra cam’ demonstrates just…
Video report on European Premiere of Tigers – the true story of the former Nestle salesman who took on the company with the help of IBFAN
Video produced by the San Sebastian Film Festival (5 minutes – some commentary in Spanish). For details, screening time and to sign up for news alerts see Baby Milk Action’s special Tigers page. Breaking news 28 September: Tigers wins Solidarity…
World premiere of Danis Tanovic’s Tigers gains standing ovation for Nestlé whistle blower
Canadian Government commends bravery of Syed Aamir Raza Baby Milk Action staff represented in the film also present at premiere Baby Milk Action press release 9 September 2014 Media coverage: Examiner.com – Toronto Star – Express Tribune Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) 8…
Tigers first review – the ‘inspiring story of personal courage’ of a Nestle salesman who blew the whistle
The media screening of the hotly anticipated feature film Tigers, the baby milk drama by Oscar-winning director Danis Tanovic, took place today. The first review has just been published in Hollywood Reporter, which says: “Writer-director Danis Tanovich explores the power of…
Nestle cancels health worker event in UK – but targets parents with baby show in Ireland
Media coverage: Irish Examiner 28 August 2014. Update 31 August: People concerned about Nestlé promoting its SMA formula brand through the pregnancy and baby show in Dublin produced leaflets with the support of Baby Milk Action to offer to those…
Nestle exploits World Breastfeeding Week as part of formula growth strategy
Baby Milk Action press release 6 August 2014 World Breastfeeding Week, promoted by the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA), takes place 1 – 7 August 2014, but this year it is being hijacked by Nestlé in a number of countries. This…
UN Global Compact Office says it has no role to play in protecting integrity of initiative as Nestle continues to violate its principles
Baby Milk Action press release 2 July 2014 Baby Milk Action has today sent an open letter to the Executive Director of the UN Global Compact, George Kell, over the failure of the Global Compact Office to hold Nestlé to account for…
US infant formula hospital stance ‘confuses’ domestic law and WHO Code
US infant formula hospital stance ‘confuses’ domestic law and WHO Code: UNICEF, PAHO By Mark Astley+ , 16-Jun-2014 The International Formula Council (IFC) “confuses” US law and the WHO Code when defending the practice of supplying free infant formula samples for hospital discharge bags, the…
Whistleblowing: Food Safety and Fraud
Whistleblowing FSM This is an excellent article, that should be read by all policy makers reprinted from Food Safety Magazine, June/July2014 by Yasmine Motarjemi. It makes an important case for supporting, rather than harassing whistleblowers. Yasmine Motarjemi, Ph.D., holds an M.Sc. degree in food…
International action is needed to stand up to corporations
I have just joined the call for a binding international treaty to address corporate human rights abuses! You can do so to here. The United Nations Human Rights Council is meeting at the moment (10 – 27 June) and an international civil…
Nestlé-sponsored conference cancelled following complaints
A major health conference in Scotland was cancelled last week following complaints about it being sponsored by Nestlé. Sunday Herald (1 June 2014) C&IT (2 June 2014) The Building A Healthier, Fairer Scotland conference was planned to take place at Dynamic…
IBFAN report launch 16 May 2014 – Companies continue to violate the International Code
Press release 16 May 2014 Media coverage: Dairyreporter Breaking the Rules, Stretching the Rules 2014 will be launched on 16 May 2014 at the Club Suisse de la Presse in Geneva by Annelies Allain, Director of the International Code Documentation Centre (IBFAN…
Can nutrition experts be independent if they get $25,000 per annum from Nestle?
CLICK HERE CLICK HERE for Update 46 story Times of India Rema Nagarajan, TNN | Apr 19, 2014, 10.00AM IST NEW DELHI: The question of conflict of interest among academics who serve on various boards or councils of private corporations…
Android KitKat draws attention to Nestlé malpractice
The tie-up between Google and Nestlé through the new Android KitKat smartphone operating system is prompting a reaction in the media and amongst campaigners. This reminder of Nestlé malpractice comes in the lead up to International Nestlé-Free Week, taking place…
Methodist Church committee presents selective report to Conference (4-11 July) to excuse million pound Nestlé investment
Press release 3 July 2013 The British Methodist Conference (4-11 July) will receive a report from the Church’s Joint Advisory Committee on the Ethics in Investment (JACEI), which has been released to the media. This includes a paragraph on Nestlé, in…
Breastfeeding rates falling in England
The Guardian is reporting that breastfeeding rates are falling in the UK. See: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2013/jun/22/breastfeeding-figures-fall-nhs-cuts I have posted the following comment (which can be used by the media as a quote): Part of the problem is also the massive sums baby…
Danone v. Nestle and conflicts of interest in the UK and Ireland
Following Nestlé’s entry into the UK and Irish formula markets in December 2012, when it finalised its takeover of Pfizer Nutrition/Wyeth and the SMA brand, we are starting to see more aggressive baby milk marketing practices, both from Nestlé and…
Nestle Chairman wants to sell the world’s water
Please sign this petition addressed to the European Union, calling it to accept that access to water is a human right. See: http://www.right2water.eu/ Nestlé Chairman, Peter Brabeck-Letmathé, has rejected this view in an interview. Under his principles, water is a…
Danone steps up baby milk promotion in Ireland by branding Barnardos Ireland’s Big Toddle events with Cow & Gate formula logo as it rations formula in UK
Press release 25 April 2013 Media coverage: Irish Independent 2 May Danone has branded its sponsorship of Barnardos Ireland’s Big Toddle event running in 2013 with its Cow & Gate formula logo (left, image from the event Facebook page). At…
UNICEF Lao report shows companies violating the marketing requirements
A new monitoring report commissioned by UNICEF Lao has just become available and looks at marketing from November 2011 to January 2012. The monitoring found sales representatives, principally from Nestlé and Danone, targeting health workers, shop keepers and parents. The…
Nestle shareholder meeting 11 April 2013 – Chairman’s Creative Storytelling Venture – Baby Milk Action launches exposé of misleading claims
Baby Milk Action press release 11 April 2013 Nestlé’s 146th shareholder meeting was held in Lausanne, Switzerland, on 11 April 2013 and, in addition to complaining that “The political and regulatory environment for publicly listed companies is becoming more difficult…
Danone v. Nestle formula marketing war reaches the UK
Baby Milk Action press release 9 April 2013 Campaigners are pointing to new aggressive baby milk marketing practices in the UK as a sign of increased competition with Nestlé entering the UK market, where Danone is currently the largest company.…
Conflicts of Interest threaten Mexico’s hunger project – industry’s poison chalice
PRESS RELEASE Gran Hotel, Mexico City 9th April 2013 Marcelo Melchior, President of Nestlé Mexico, and Rosario Robles, Secretary of Social Development signing the partnership deal, Mi Dulce Negocio Nestle (My Sweet Business) as part of Mexico’s Crusade Against Hunger. CLICK HERE for PDF…
Nestle and co’s US$400 million threat against the Philippines
Baby Milk Action press release 3 December 2012 Campaigners in the Philippines are exposing a threat levelled at the economy by Nestlé and other transnational companies if baby milk marketing regulations successfully defended in 2007 are not scrapped. Nestlé and…
President Aquino of the Philippines called on to defend mothers and babies from the baby food industry
Press release 3 June 2012 President Benigno S. Aquino III of the Philippines, who will shortly arrive in the UK, has been sent a message by Baby Milk Action and members of the public from around the world calling on…
Wyeth’s SMA Baby Know-How roadshows break marketing rules
Wyeth manufactures the SMA range of formulas. It was planning a series of SMA Baby Know-How events in the UK, to start on 14 June 2012. These break marketing rules. Update 22 June 2012: None of the events went ahead…
Baby Milk Action’s intervention at the Nestle shareholder meeting 19 April 2012
Mr. Chairman, Directors, Ladies and Gentlemen, I am Mike Brady from the campaigning group Baby Milk Action and GIFA. I would like to speak about the marketing of breastmilk substitutes and other baby foods. As part of the International Baby…
Nestlé Chairman rejects proposals from boycott coordinators at company AGM
Press release 19 April 2012 Media coverage: Dairy Reporter 20 April 2012 At the company shareholder meeting in Lausanne on 19 April, Nestlé Chairman, Peter Brabeck-Letmathé, rejected proposals from Baby Milk Action that could ultimately bring to an end the…
Nestlé weakens its breastmilk substitutes marketing policy
Nestlé has quietly weakened its Policy and Instructions for Implementation of the WHO International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes. The table in Update 44, April 2012. shows the change and the various ways in which Nestlé’s policy and instructions fail to respect the…
WHO Global Forum in Moscow. Tackling food-related diseases: voluntary measures or regulation – carrot or stick?
27th April, 2011 WHO Global Forum in Moscow. Tackling food-related diseases: voluntary measures or regulation – carrot or stick? Press Release PDF http://www.who.int/nmh/events/moscow_ncds_2011/conference_documents/presentations/en/index.html The World Health Organization’s global forum in Moscow on 27th April, Addressing the challenge of noncommunicable diseases, sparked concern…
Nestle, the UN Global Compact and OECD Guidelines
What happened when Nestlé was reported for violating the UN Global Compact and OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises? Abstract The UN Global Compact and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises seek to improve compliance of businesses with human rights…
Nestle challenged over health claims which tell mothers that baby milk will ‘protect’ their babies.
Nestle Annual Shareholder Meeting, Palais de Beaulieu, Lausanne, Switzerland Press release: 15th April 2010 As Greenpeace activists cut through the ceiling and absailed into Shareholder Meeting with huge banners and leaflets, Nestlé was held to account for its exploitation of…
Nestle challenged at its AGM 2010, Lausanne, Switzerland 15th April 2010
Below is my intervention at Nestlé’s Shareholder meeting in April 2010 in Lausanne. I challenged the company about its failure to abide by marketing standards adopted by the World Health Assembly and about it health claims strategy which tells mothers…
UNHCR uses ‘due diligence’ and abandons US$ 5 million deal with Nestlé
UNHCR uses ‘due diligence’ and abandons US$ 5 million deal with Nestlé Press release 23 November 2009 Baby Milk Action, colleagues in the International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN) and thousands of health campaigners around the world are sighing with…