by Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, CEO Nestlé

From the very beginnings of our company, Nestlé has believed that breastfeeding is best for babies. Our founder, chemist Henri Nestlé, stated this in his Treatise on Nutrition in 1867, and it is still true today.

Our company was founded that year when Henri Nestlé invented a milk and cereal food that saved the life of a neighbour's baby who could not be breastfed. At that time, 1 out of every 5 babies in Switzerland died before the age of 1 year, an infant mortality rate higher than most parts of the developing world today. The rapid expansion of the Company in its early years is attributable to the high demand for its breast-milk substitute.

With time, Nestlé became a manufacturer of a range of infant foods and, even though infant cereals and other products that complement breast milk represent less than 2% of Nestlé sales today, we remain the world's leading provider of infant nutrition products.

Since the passage of the International (WHO) Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes in 1981, WHO's policy has been to recommend exclusive breastfeeding for the first 4 to 6 months of life. In May this year, and as a consequence of a WHO Expert Consultation held in March 2001, a new Resolution was passed at the World Health Assembly that changed this policy to a recommended period of 6 months of exclusive breastfeeding. This was passed as a global public health recommendation to all member states of WHO.

We fully support this new policy, as it helps clear up a long-standing ambiguity and we hope that it will end the debate over the recommended duration of exclusive breastfeeding. We will support its adoption by all member states, and in over 150 developing countries where we voluntarily implement the International (WHO) Code, we will unilaterally reflect the change in the labels of our products, in consultation with national authorities. The Expert Consultation also clearly stated that mothers who cannot, or choose not to exclusively breastfeed should also be supported, and pointed to the varying nutritional needs of individual infants. Nestlé also endorses this position of the Expert Consultation.

In addition, the Expert Consultation recommended that scientific enquiry continue in the area of optimal duration of exclusive breastfeeding. This research includes studying the effects of exclusive, predominant and partial breastfeeding on the nutritional status and health of infants.

Nestlé has the largest food and nutrition research organisation in the world, and has, as well, supported many university studies which have documented the benefits of breastfeeding and which have shed new light on the nutritional needs of infants. We believe the continued research recommended by the Expert Consultation is essential, particularly in assessing the nutritional requirements of infants with specific characteristics and in varying circumstances

As we move ahead with these new WHO recommendations, we look forward to working with all involved parties in a spirit of co-operation to put them into effect in order to further the Aim and Principles of the International (WHO) Code.