The Infant Nutrition Council has been denied authorisation for the five-year continuation of an industry code which seeks to restrict the advertising and promotion of infant formula.
The Marketing in Australia of Infant Formula: Manufacturers and Importers Agreement (MAIF Agreement) initially established in 1992, has formed part of Australia’s response to its obligations as a signatory to the World Health Organisation’s International Code of Marketing Breast Milk Substitutes.
The Infant Nutrition Council, which represents the majority of manufacturers and importers of infant formula in Australia, applied for revocation of the existing authorisation and the substitution of a new one. It aimed to continue to make and give effect to the MAIF Agreement and its associated guidelines for a further five years to ensure a framework remains in place while the Government prepares and implements its response to an independent review of the MAIF Agreement.
The ACCC considers that the effectiveness of the Agreement is being undermined by several factors including its voluntary nature, its limited scope, and restrictions on its ability to capture the breadth of modern digital marketing methods.
As such, the ACCC considers that the claimed public benefits are unlikely to arise, or are likely to occur with or without the MAIF Agreement. Further, the ACCC considers the conduct is likely to result in some competitive detriment.
“We are not satisfied in all the circumstances that the MAIF Agreement is likely to result in public benefits that would outweigh the public detriments likely to result from it,” ACCC Acting Chair Mick Keogh said.
MAIF Agreement
The MAIF Agreement is a voluntary, self-regulatory code of conduct which aims to restrict those manufacturers and importers of infant formula who opt in to the agreement from advertising and promoting formula for infants up to 12 months of age. Its implementation requires ACCC authorisation as it forms an agreement between competitors not to market their infant formula products.
Mr Keogh says while the link between breastfeeding and improved health outcomes for mothers and children is undisputed, there are several factors that undermine the effectiveness of the MAIF Agreement in protecting breastfeeding rates.
“We are not satisfied that the MAIF Agreement and associated guidelines are likely to result in a net public benefit to justify authorisation and consider that they are likely to result in some public detriment through reduced competition between infant formula manufacturers and importers, compared to the future without the conduct.”
Dietitians Australia welcomes ACCC’s determination, having long advocated for the voluntary industry code to be replaced with a legislated mandatory code.
“We have been pushing for years for Australia to move towards meeting its obligations under the WHO International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes Code (The Code) and WHA resolutions,” said Dietitians Australia President Dr Fiona Willer.
“This determination is a firm commitment towards this achievement.
“Families should be supported with the best information and evidence possible when it comes to determining how their infants and children are fed, and their choices shouldn’t be compromised by the impact of commercial marketing of infant formula,” she said.
The Department of Health and Aged Care intends to introduce a mandatory regime to restrict marketing of infant formula, which it expects would take two years to implement.