About the review

On 21 November 2007 Dawn Primorolo, Minister of State for Public Health, announced new controls on the composition, labelling, presentation, advertising and promotion of infant formula and follow-on formula. These controls (Regulations implementing Directive 2006/141/EC and associated guidance) update compositional requirements for infant formula and follow-on formula based on recent scientific advice and provide new, stronger rules on labelling, advertising and promotion in order to ensure that breastfeeding is not undermined.

When the Minister announced the new controls (The Infant Formula and Follow-on Formula Regulations 2007 and the associated guidance notes) she made a commitment to reviewing the effect of the measures on how infant formulas and follow-on formulas are labelled, presented, advertised and promoted. The review would examine whether, as a result of the new controls, there was a clear distinction between infant formula and follow-on formula in consumers’ minds. The review would be completed within one year of the new controls coming into force and would assess whether they were working as expected or whether further action was needed.

The Food Standards Agency invited stakeholders to attend a meeting on 8 January 2008 to discuss and agree the scope and some details of the process for the review. This document sets out the review’s objective, remit and processes. It takes into account the discussions at that meeting, and the judgement from the judicial review of the regulations in the High Court in England and Wales. This judgement does not affect the rules relating to advertising of infant and follow-on formula which apply immediately.

To assess whether the new controls upon the ways in which follow-on formula are presented and advertised have been effective in making it clear to parents/parents to be and carers that advertisements for follow-on formula are meant only for older babies (6 months and above) and are not perceived or confused as infant formula advertising, which is prohibited.

The review will:

• establish the effect of the new controls on the ways in which infant formula and follow-on formula are presented and advertised
• establish whether consumers are clear that presentation of, and advertising of, follow-on formula relates to formula for older babies and not to infant formula
• establish if infants under 6 months of age are being fed follow-on formula and if so the reasons why
• identify any enforcement issues which have arisen since the new controls came into force

The independent review panel will assess whether the new controls are fulfilling their objectives or whether further action is needed and, if so, what future action may be appropriate.

The review will consider the ways in which the controls are working throughout the UK.

The review will be managed by a small group of independent experts (the review panel) with an independent chair. As agreed by the Minister, the review will be chaired by Professor Anne Murcott. The FSA and Department of Health (DH) will jointly provide the secretariat to the panel.

Members of the review panel will collectively have expertise in the following areas:

• infant nutrition
• consumer perception and behaviour
• health inequalities and diversity
• marketing and an understanding of the effect of promotion on consumer perception

The role of the Panel is to assess the effect of the new infant formula and follow-on formula controls upon the ways in which infant formula and follow-on formula are presented and advertised, and upon the way in which infant formula and follow-on formula are perceived and used by carers.

At the end of the review, the panel will report its findings to the FSA, DH and equivalents in other UK Countries. The panel’s work will involve:

• establishing the information required to successfully carry out the review
• requesting information from interested parties then considering responses and identifying any ongoing issues or areas where further action may be needed
• making recommendations for consumer research to FSA/DH
• considering new / emerging information and research evidence
• making recommendations to FSA/DH and equivalents, as to whether the new infant formula and follow-on formula controls are fulfilling their objective to make it clear to parents/parents to be and carers that advertisements for follow on formula are for products suitable only for older babies, or whether further action is needed and, if so, what such action could be

Panel meetings
It will be for the panel to decide how it will conduct the review.

In addition to the information requested directly by the review panel, FSA/DH will commission research to provide information on whether consumers are clear that presentation of, and advertising of, follow-on formula relates to formula for older babies and is not confused with infant formula meant for younger babies (under 6 months of age).

The exact nature of the information required for the review will be determined by the panel. Stakeholders will be given opportunities during the review process to provide the panel with information relevant to its considerations:

• NGOs will help in monitoring the effectiveness of the measures e.g. by providing information about perceived breaches of legislation to enforcement authorities
• healthcare professionals will provide data on the information they see from infant formula and follow-on formula manufacturers and how this impacts on their work
• infant formula and follow on formula industry will provide relevant sales data, information relating to requests made through their carelines, the information they provide via company websites and their policies on follow on formula advertising
• enforcement officers will provide information on breaches of the legislation and suggest other sources of information that could be considered

Stakeholders will also have an opportunity to comment on the design of any research conducted as part of the review and the Panel’s draft conclusions.