Calls for greater scrutiny of infant formula market
The CEO of Kendal Nutricare and food scientist, Ross McMahon, has this week spoken to MPs calling for increased scrutiny of the infant formula market.
Kendal Nutricare is the parent company of Kendamil, the only British producer of infant formula. Speaking to the All-Party Parliamentary Group on October 17th, McMahon called for
- a complete ban on palm oil combined with skimmed milk in infant formula products
- better traceability of all ingredients and country of manufacture clearly stated
- a ban on hospitals handing out ready to feed bottles
- better enforcement of UK regulations that prohibit idealising text and images on infant formula labels.
“Breast milk is best for babies, the evidence for that is overwhelming” comments McMahon. “Yet we cannot ignore the fact that 98% of mothers will use infant formula at some point. What a parent feeds their child in the first few months of life is extremely important. So why doesn’t the infant formula market attract the highest level of scrutiny? How can parents make informed decisions when there is little transparency and no debate?”
Arguing for improved traceability of ingredients, Mahon commented: “The McDonald’s website gives me more information about the ingredients used in their burgers than many infant formulas provide on their labels. Surely that can’t be right. Additionally, parents need to know that cheap vegetable oils or palm oils combined with skimmed milk are not a healthy alternative to mammal milk fats. I also question the need for expensive ‘comfort’ and ‘hungry’ infant formulas.”
McMahon also asked MPs to support manufacturers using British milk. Currently the UK market is dominated by imported infant formulas, none of which use British whole milk.
