Baby milk should be supplied in plain packaging to avoid exploiting parents, WHO warns
The World Health Organization has called for formula milk to be sold in plain packaging to prevent marketers from taking advantage of vulnerable parents.
A report by the global health body's experts claimed that packaging was being used to boost brand costs artificially. While corporations are not allowed to make promotional statements on formula milk containers in the UK, direct advertising to parents of infants less than six months is prohibited.
Dr Nigel Rollins, a World Health Organization scientist, said at the UNICEF UK Baby Friendly annual conference that businesses could get away with charging more for their more expensive formula milk by using marketing language like "premium" and "specially formulated."
Words like "sensitive" and "comforting" were used in "exploitative claims" to imply that the product would stop newborns from crying. Baby formula is required by legislation to provide a particular nutritional profile.
'Parents shouldn’t be made to feel guilty for not choosing the most expensive brand on the supermarket shelves. This is irresponsible marketing that preys on well-intentioned parents who want the best for their baby. Plainer packaging for all formulas could reinforce the message that different brands are essentially the same,' Elizabeth Duff, of the parenthood charity NCT, said.
When it comes to enforcing any kind of "plain packaging" law, it would be up to individual governments to do so. In 2017, the United Kingdom implemented a plain packaging strategy for tobacco products."We need to support parents with factual nutritional information... so they can make the right decision for them. It’s a responsibility we take seriously," said the British Specialist Nutrition Association, who represents the sector.