The Indian government is clamping down on advertising of baby foods, despite ferocious opposition from manufacturers.
The baby food market in India is currently reckoned to be worth around £180m much of which is controlled by Nestle. The new law bans advertising of foods which claim to be: “a complement to mother’s milk to meet the growing nutritional needs of the infant after the age of four months” . Manufacturers are prohibited from distributing free samples or using other inducements to promote use of these products. Donations of formula and bottles may be made only to orphanages
All information material must promote breastfeeding and stress the “financial and social implications” of using formula.
Manufacturers are also banned from paying staff on the basis of the volume of sales.