PHM-Exch> Nestle.....again

[Claudio Schuftan]

From: arun arun.ibfan at gmail.com



Nestle Piggy Backs its own Institute to Sponsor Doctors Conferences and
BREAKING THE INDIAN LAW: Governments need to Act!

Hiding behind their own, Nestle Nutrition Institute, Nestle, the
manufacturer of the Infant Milk Substitutes and Infant Foods, hosts a
conference for the doctors in Chennai tomorrow the 30th, and hosted one in
Kolkutta yesterday the 28th April. This action breaks the Indian law, the
Infant Milk Substitutes Feeding Bottles, and Infant Foods (Regulation of
Production, Supply and Distribution) Act 1992, and the Amended Act 2003.
http://www.bpni.org/docments/IMS-act.pdf

The Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India (BPNI), the agency that has
been notified under section 21(1(c) of the IMS Act, received information
just this morning about tomorrow’s event in Chennai the 30th April, and
wrote to the Principal Secretary Health, Tamil Nadu as well as Secretary
Health Government of India to take action. In fact, the BPNI has requested
the health secretary of Tamil Nadu, not to inaugurate the said conference
and avoid giving legitimacy to the organizers.

The scientific conference “ Emerging Trends in Pediatric Nutrition” to be
held at Hotel Park in Chennai, hosted by the Nestle Nutrition Institute, a
subsidiary of Nestle, the manufacturer of infant milk substitutes and infant
foods.

It is ironical that on one hand the government authorities supposed to
regulate and check malpractices in infant feeding show a thunderous
enthusiasm but fail to even inform its functionaries about their roles and
conduct while dealing with this sensitive matter. The net result of all this
translates into inadvertent endorsement of such unnecessary and even harmful
products when these guardians of public health inaugurate, attend, chair and
benefit from the carefully crafted media coverage.

BPNI is deeply concerned about the unethical practices of baby food and
formula companies or their allies, to work in with a handful of allured
individuals. Hiding behind company mooted institutions is now become a
fashion among all such corporate houses making baby foods. BPNI believe that
infant formulas and baby foods are only recipes for disaster for infants
rather than anything else; there is no reason that corporate sector should
be interfering with infant nutrition.

Contacts:
Dr JP Dadhich
jpdadhich at gmail.com
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