Draft Determination. Application for revocation of AA1000534 and the substitution of authorisation AA1000665 lodged by Infant Nutrition Council Ltd in respect of the Marketing in Australia of Infant Formula: Manufacturers and Importers Agreement, and associated guidelines.
Authorisation number: AA1000665
Date 20 September 2024
The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) is doing a review of its marketing rules. The Infant Nutrition Council ( INC) has asked for permission to keep the current ‘Marketing in Australia of Infant Formula: Manufacturers and Importers Agreement’ (MAIF agreement) that restricts the promotion of formula for babies up to 12 months of age (instead of the 36 month recommended by WHO.
The ACCC regulator has just passed a draft determination, stating that industry self-regulation isn’t working lists cross-promotion as one reason for this (see summary page 2):
Although not final, this is excellent news, and is due to the determined work of all health advocates that have been lobbying and submitting comments to the process.
A total of 524 individuals and organisations participated in stakeholder consultation, including consumers and members of the public, infant formula industry (MAIF Agreement signatories and non-signatories), State and Territory government representatives, health sector representatives, breastfeeding and public health advocates, and academics. The online survey received 443 responses. Consultation also included 28 focus groups and interviews led by Allen + Clarke, and analysis of 11 written submissions provided by interested parties. The responses were detailed and diverse. We thank all of the respondents for their time and feedback.Of the 443 responses to the online survey, 408 respondents provided consent to publish their responses. However, all responses were included in the analysis undertaken by Allen + Clarke.