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…

IBFAN welcomes Save the Children campaign on infant and young child feeding

Press release 17 February 2013 (click here to download as pdf) Click here for Save the Children’s press release, report and petition campaign Media coverage: Guardian (15 February), PDF 18 February: Daily Mail – Guardian – Daily Telegraph – Daily Mirror JPEG, Guardian (19…

ATTAC Switzerland press release: Nestlegate: Successful civil lawsuit against NESTLE and SECURITAS

Press release issued by ATTAC Switzerland, 26 January 2013 (English translation provided by ATTAC Switzerland – click here for German version) [Media coverage: Le Courrier 26 January – Background from Baby Milk Action] ATTAC Switzerland has taken notice with great satisfaction…

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…

ASA: Pfizer/Wyeth email promoted SMA formula in breach of advertising rules

Press release 28 November 2012 Pfizer/Wyeth has another ruling against it today from the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) following a complaint brought by Baby Milk Action, this time against an email campaign for its SMA brand of formula. The email headed…

Important development in EU rules on baby food marketing

I have been attending an EU Food Law meeting this week on The Revision of the PARNUTs Directive – it was attended by all the major companies. See Nutraingredient article: MEPs back the proposals Presentations from the EU Food Law Meeting Charitini…

Stop Pfizer/Wyeth and Danone stealing the good names of health workers in Ireland

Media coverage: Irish Times 16 November 2012, The Sunday Business Post 16 November. Baby Milk Action has been asked to support a campaign in Ireland against baby food companies sponsoring awards to health workers. The event’s main sponsor is Pfizer/Wyeth,…

Happy birthday ASA? How the Advertising Standards Authority fails to protect babies and their families in the UK.

Press release 25 October 2012 The industry-funded UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is holding an event today to celebrate its 50 years of ensuring advertising is “legal, decent, honest and truthful”. Baby Milk Action is launching a new report on its…

SMA formula NOT “the best milk after Kate’s” ASA ruling finds

Press release 19 September 2012 Media coverage: Dairy reporter In a national billboard, print and online advertising campaign in March 2012, Wyeth (part of Pfizer, in the process of being purchased by Nestlé) promoted its formula in a series of…

Subverted Wyeth SMA advertising raises questions over pricing

Wyeth is embarking on yet another national advertising campaign for its SMA formula. This must be costing millions of pounds – a bill ultimately paid by those who buy formula. The subvert below made me think about how much mark…

Wyeth cancels SMA Baby Know How roadshow following protests

Press release 22 June 2012 Wyeth has cancelled its much promoted SMA Baby Know How roadshow after shopping centres pulled out of the event. Members of the public sent messages of protest to the shopping centres in support of a…

MEPs warn of sweet baby milks and call for stricter marketing rules

Press release 15 June 2012 The vote on the European Parliament’s Report on the Commission proposal for a Regulation on Food for infants & young children and for special medical purposes took place on 14 June in Strasbourg http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sed/speeches.do http://www.babymilkaction.org/archives/750 European…

One time chance to stop misleading information to parents: Vote in EU Parliament on 14th June

CLICK HERE FOR THE ONE PAGE BRIEFING CLICK HERE FOR MY BLOG BEFORE AND AFTER THE ENVI COMMITTEE MEETING CLICK HERE FOR THE POINT BY POINT IBFAN BRIEFING Click here for the recording of the debate that just happened. http://www.nutraingredients.com/content/view/print/646768 One time chance…

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…

MEPs call for stricter marketing and safety controls

Thank you to everyone who supported our efforts to change the way that EU legislation is made – making it more transparent, accountable and protective of child health. MEPs in the European Parliament’s Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee (ENVI) voted…

Nestle Chairman brings shame to the University of Alberta

Press release 10 February 2012 In the media: Edmonton Journal 10 February – EJ 14 February – EJ 29 February. Baby Milk Action mentions: Vue Weekly 15 February – CBC radio 28 February. Update 29 February: Over 70 organizations from…

Governments should govern, and corporations should follow the rules

The latest edition of SCN News contains an article written by myself and Patti Rundall, our Policy Director, with this title. See page 51 of http://www.unscn.org/files/Publications/SCN_News/SCNNEWS39_10.01_high_def.pdf SCN is the United Nations System Standing Committee on Nutrition. The theme of the journal…

How responsive are companies to reports of violations? Nestlé 3% – Danone 50%

Update 16 May 2014: Danone is now the target of the DanoNO campaign for failing to deliver on its promises. Baby Milk Action will be joining partners in the International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN) in Geneva on 12 May…

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…

European Parliament votes to block DHA health claim – but not by a large enough majority to guarantee action by the Commission

Press release 6 April 2011 Media coverage: The Telegraph (11 April 2011), The Independent (6 April), Press Association (6 April). CLICK HERE for DHA briefing Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) voted today in favour of a Resolution to…

European Parliament votes to block DHA health claim – but not by a large enough majority to guarantee action by the Commission

London Marathon sponsor Nestlé ‘Pure Life’ bottled water criticised

Press release 2 April 2011 Nestlé, the UK’s most boycotted company over its marketing of baby milk, is trying to improve its image by sponsoring the London Marathon on Sunday 17 April 2011 with its ‘Pure Life’ bottled water brand,…

European Parliamentarians oppose bogus baby food health claim

DHA briefing for MEPs DHA V13 European Parliamentarians oppose bogus baby food health claim 16 March, 2011 – 15:33 — Patti European Parliamentarians oppose bogus health claim 16th March – Brussels Members of the European Parliament have moved to block a…

How media reporting can derail health policy

Archive piece How media reporting can derail health policy 18 January, 2011 – 19:16 — Patti The debate about the value of the BMJ comment piece rages on, with misleading stories and headlines falsely implying that breastfeeding is a risk…

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…

How Nestle spins when it gives into campaigners’ demands – Greenpeace campaign update

Greenpeace is reporting that Nestlé has agreed to all of its demands regarding its sourcing of palm oil from suppliers accused of destroying Indonesian rainforest to produce it. Nestlé had earlier resisted calls to change its policies and practices and…

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…

European opinion on baby foods influenced by industry funding

Archive Press release European opinion on baby foods influenced by industry funding Press release 23 December 2009 Health advocates predict a decline in breastfeeding if a new opinion of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) which is at variance with…

George Clooney questioned over role in advertising ‘widely boycotted’ Nestle

Update 1 August 2013: Apparently stung by criticism of taking a Nestlé paycheck, George Clooney told the Guardian: “Most of the money I make on the [Nespresso] commercials I spend keeping a satellite over the border of North and South Sudan…

Watch Formula for Disaster film from the Philippines here

People are always wanting to know whether Nestlé and other baby food companies are still misbehaving in the way they push their products. What is going on right now? The article in The Guardian on Tuesday was the journalist’s eye…

EU Platform for Action launched today acknowledges that breastfeeding lowers the risk of obesity

EU Platform for Action launched today acknowledges that breastfeeding lowers the risk of obesity 15 March 2005 The International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN) [i] has accepted an invitation from the European Commission to join the European Platform for Action…

How safe are infant formulas? The death of a one-week old formula-fed baby in Belgium

IBFAN PRESS RELEASE 10 May 2002 The recent death of a 5-day old boy from meningitis in Belgium raises important questions about the labelling and promotion of breastmilk substitutes and the adequacy of commercial surveillance systems, issues currently being discussed…

1997 The Nestlé Boycott is the best supported consumer boycott in the UK, according to an independent survey.

1997 The Nestlé Boycott is the best supported consumer boycott in the UK, according to an independent survey. The Nestlé boycott is at the top of ethical consumers’ boycott lists in the UK, according to a survey in the 50th…