Little time left to strengthen the UK formula law

We have submitted a report to the UK government consultation on revising the Infant Formula and Follow-on Formula Regulations on behalf of the Baby Feeding Law Group, a coalition of health worker and mother support groups. The report, 'Protecting breastfeeding - Protecting babies fed on formula', has also been endorsed by the Breastfeeding Manifesto coalition. It is available at:
http://www.babymilkaction.org/shop/publications01.html#bflgsubmission

Thank you if you have also written to the Food Standards Agency, which is conducting the consultation.

So what's happening now?

Here's an update from the Public Health Minister, Dawn Primarolo MP, given in a written Parliamentary Answer:

See Hansard 25 October 2007:

---
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what process the Government followed in deciding its policy and interpretation of Commission Directive 2006/14/EC on Infant Formula and Follow-on-Formula; and when it expects to announce related decisions. [160484]

Dawn Primarolo: The Food Standards Agency has consulted stakeholders on new draft regulations, which will implement EU directive 2006/141/EC on infant and follow-on formula, and will lay down rules about the composition, labelling and advertising of formulae. Comments received from the stakeholders are now being collated and evaluated by the agency. These will then be published together with the agency responses. The agency also intends to consult in the near future on the accompanying draft guidance notes. The directive requires that regulations come into force on 1 January 2008.
---

We are distributing the report to relevant policy makers. You can help this work by making a donation at:
http://www.babymilkaction.org/shop/publications01.html#bflgsubmission

I'll let you know when the consultation submissions are officially published and if and how the proposed regulations are revised as a result. There will be another campaign action shortly for a final push to convince policy makers to put infant health and mothers' rights before company profits.