Nestlé supports breastfeeding and believes that breast milk is the best start a baby can have in life. All our infant formula products carry out the following message, "Important notice: Breast milk is best for babies. Before you decide to use an infant formula consult your doctor or clinic for advice".

In addition, we support government’s efforts to promote and protect breastfeeding. For instance, we have pledged support to China’s breastfeeding action plan, which requires voluntary regulation by industry.

Nestlé manufactures high quality infant formulas for infants who are not breastfed. Infant formula is a crucial product for those infants who otherwise could be fed inappropriate and dangerous products, such as rice water, whole cow’s milk or solid foods. In fact, infant formula is the only product recognized to be a suitable breast-milk substitute by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

We take very seriously our responsibility to ensure our marketing practices abide by the WHO International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes (‘WHO Code’). In 1982, we were the first company to voluntarily and unilaterally apply the WHO Code as a minimum requirement in all developing countries, whether or not national regulations existed.

We continue to apply the Code today and have implemented the most comprehensive management system in the industry. GES Investment Services, Northern Europe’s leading analysis firm for Responsible Investment, states that “Nestlé has the most elaborated policies and mechanisms to address the Code, distinctly ahead of its peers”.

We go further than other companies in complying with the WHO Code. In developing countries, Nestlé is the only major infant food manufacturer which:

• Does not advertise follow-on formula for infants up to 12 months of age.
• Does not give free supplies of infant formula to hospitals.
• Does not market cereals and baby foods for infants younger than 6 months.
• Carries out independent external audits and reports on their results.
• Publicly responds to allegations of non-compliance.

The WHO Code was adopted as a recommendation to governments to implement it as appropriate to their social and legislative framework. This means that countries have the prerogative to implement the WHO Code as they see most appropriate to their own circumstances and as a result, there is a lack of standard regulations, impartial and transparent monitoring.

In developed countries, Nestlé fulfills its obligations in implementing the WHO Code and monitoring its own practices by following national regulation and legislation. This is the only way to respect each country’s prerogative to take action to “give effect to the principles and aim of the Code in ways that are appropriate to their social and legislative framework and their overall development objectives” (WHO Code, art. 11.1).

In all developing countries, Nestlé has been voluntarily and unilaterally applying the WHO Code since 1982, whether or not national regulations exist. We follow national legislations when these are stricter than the WHO Code. This is because we recognise that there is a heightened need to protect young children in countries with poorer sanitation, lower levels of literacy and higher infant mortality.

Some people involved in the issue interpret the WHO Code more widely than most governments, members of the scientific community and companies. The WHO Code is a recommendation to governments: it recognizes that they should decide national policies taking into account their socio-economic status and development goals. In contrast, some think that infant food manufacturers should apply the Code in the same way in all countries.
In developed countries with strong governments, high rates of literacy, scientific and medical understanding, clean water and low infant mortality, such as the US, Canada or Europe, governments should determine how information on infant feeding should be communicated. Therefore, in these countries we follow all national legislation or measures implementing the WHO Code.

In developing countries, with higher infant mortality, lower levels of literacy and poorer sanitation, Nestlé follows the WHO Code as a minimum standard. We follow national legislation if this is stricter than the Code.

A second point of controversy is that some people believe that the WHO Code should cover not only breast-milk substitutes, but all products for children up to 2 years of age, such as cereals and baby foods marketed for use above 6 months. Most governments and members of the scientific community do not agree with this interpretation of the Code. The WHO Code itself clarifies that complementary foods are not covered by the Code unless specifically marketed as breast-milk substitutes.

Complementary foods, such as cereals or fruit and vegetable purees, are not breast-milk substitutes unless specifically marketed as such. Therefore they are not within the scope of the WHO Code.

This is clarified in Annex 3 of the WHO Code, which states that “Any other food, such as cow’s milk, fruit juices, cereals, vegetables, or any other fluid, solid, or semi-solid food intended for infants and given after this initial period [of 6 months], can no longer be considered as a replacement for breast milk (or as its bona fide substitute). Such foods only complement breast milk or breast-milk substitutes. So long as the manufacturers and distributors of the products do not promote them as being suitable for use as partial or total replacements for breast milk the code’s provisions concerning limitations on advertising and other promotional activities do not apply to these products”.

Nestlé does not promote or market its complementary foods as breast-milk substitutes.

We know that in a company of our size mistakes can and do happen. Allegations of non-compliance with the WHO Code are taken seriously and each allegation we receive is investigated. When mistakes happen, we put them right as quickly as possible. We are the only major company to publicly respond to allegations of non-compliance.

However, most allegations made against Nestlé deal either with products which are not covered by the Code, such as complementary foods for infants over 6 months of age, or are practices which are allowed by the Code. For example, providing samples of cereals for babies above 6 months or having infant cereal and baby food brands on posters or small items of utility are allowed practices under the WHO Code. Cereals and baby foods are not covered by the WHO Code unless they are marketed as breast-milk substitutes.

Nestlé is the only major infant food manufacturer that does not make donations of baby milk in developing countries, nor do we give free samples to mothers or pregnant women.
In line with the WHO Code, samples of infant formula may be given to health workers for the purpose of professional evaluation or research, when a new product is introduced. In such circumstances, a maximum of two cans of infant formula may be given and these carry the label “samples for professional evaluations”.

Sometimes, in specific cases where there is no availability of mothers’ milk and where allowed by national rulings, we can agree a controlled donation of infant formula such as for an orphanage. However, we need a specific written request from the director of the institution, explaining the reasons why this is needed.

Promotional activities of infant formula (e.g. special displays, discounts, gifts, etc.) in supermarkets or pharmacies are against Nestlé policy.

Our policy is communicated to the distributors, wholesalers and retailers of our infant formula products. We work with them to ensure that they fully understand the requirements of the WHO Code and we include clauses on the respect of the Code and of our policies in our contracts with them.

However, sometimes among the many thousands of retailers who sell our infant formula products, there are some who make mistakes. When we are informed or find out about promotional activities at point of sale, we immediately ask retailers to stop them.

Infant formula products are heavily regulated by governments in order to ensure that consumers have technically precise and accurate information. Nestlé complies with the local legal and regulatory frameworks when making any scientific claim. In addition, the following statement, “Important notice: Breast milk is best for babies. Before you decide to use an infant formula, consult your doctor or clinic for advice”, appears on all our infant formula products.

Breast milk is the ideal nutrition for infants. It meets all the nutritional needs of infants in the first 6 months of life in order to achieve optimal growth and development. However, when breast milk is not available, it is our responsibility to offer the best possible infant formula in order to provide a safe and nutritious alternative. Our significant investments in research and development of infant formula help us continually deliver innovative products which meet the nutritional requirements of non-breastfed babies.

Statements and claims about the nutritional benefits of our infant formula products are based on a strong foundation of science and clinical trials. These help distinguish one particular product over other less advanced ones but do not claim in any manner that infant formula is equal or superior to breast milk.

All our informational materials to health professionals emphasize that breastfeeding is the best choice for infants and that pregnant women and new mothers should be informed of the benefits and superiority of breastfeeding. These materials only contain scientific and factual information. All scientific information is backed by the results of independent clinical trials and scientific studies. This is in line with the WHO Code (article 7.2).

The 'Protect' logo is used on a new generation of infant formula with a unique nutrient combination including specific strains of probiotics. A large body of research has demonstrated that probiotics help strengthen and support a healthy immune system.

This new generation of infant formula also contains long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs) and Opti Pro. LC-PUFAs are food ingredients with major biological and immunological functions. Opti Pro is an optimised protein profile reducing stress (i.e. metabolic burden) on immature organs.

In 2008, an international group of experts recommended that DHA and ARA, two LC-PUFAs, be added to infant formula. In this publication, the authors state that "a large database exists concerning not only the safety, but also the efficacy of infant formula containing ARA and DHA. These facts together support the addition of both ARA and DHA when long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids are added to formula". The use of these ingredients is also in accordance with recommendations by nutrition and health organisations around the world, including the Food Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the World Health Organization (WHO), the Codex Alimentarius Commission, the World Association of Perinatal Medicine (WAPM), the Child Health Foundation and the European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (ESPGHAN).

This new generation of infant formula is an improvement over previous formulas.

This is entirely false, based on a misinterpretation of a WHO statement that said: “WHO estimates that some 1.5 million children die each year because they are not adequately breastfed”.

WHO never inferred that ‘not adequately breastfed’ meant ‘fed infant formula’. UNICEF data shows that in developing countries, although most infants below 6 months of age are breastfed, they are rarely exclusively so. Most children who are not exclusively breastfed in developing countries do not receive infant formula, but rather dangerous substitutes, including non-milk liquids, unadapted whole cow’s milk, plain water (which may be contaminated) and solid foods. This is one of the reasons explaining why malnutrition among infants and young children is still prevalent in developing countries.