AMA calls for new marketing guidelines for toddler milk

The Australian Medical Association (AMA) has called for a new marketing code of practice for breastmilk substitutes that mirrors the World Health Organization’s (WHO) international code.

The call is one of AMA’s recommendations in a submission to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) consultation on reauthorising the current voluntary and self-regulated code — ‘Marketing in Australia of Infant Formulas: Manufacturers and Importers (MAIF) Agreement’ — for another five years.

“We need to scrap this voluntary code and replace it with the evidence-based best practice code. The good news is this code already exists in the WHO’s code,” AMA President Professor Steve Robson said.

The current agreement in Australia only covers infant formulas to 12 months of age, so the AMA is concerned that toddler milk could be marketed to parents under the guise of infant formula. The WHO’s code of practice extends to 36 months and classifies toddler milk as a breastmilk substitute.

“Toddler milks are unnecessary, unhealthy and deceptively marketed as beneficial — they are a milk myth that needs to be busted,” Robson said.

“Manufacturers and retailers who market infant toddler milks need to be held accountable and we know the current framework is not protecting our children’s health and wellbeing. This leaves the door wide open to invite inappropriate products in at a young age.”

The WHO’s marketing code is designed to provide protection from these marketing tactics, according to the AMA.

Image credit: iStock.com/Stefan Tomic