GENEVA (AFP, REUTERS) - The United Nations slammed baby formula makers on Wednesday (Feb 23) for "unethical" marketing strategies, accusing them of aggressively targeting expecting parents and health workers and putting shareholder interests before children's health.

It is widely recognised that breastfeeding carries huge health benefits.

But countries' failure to crack down on the marketing of breast milk substitutes means far too many children are still being reared on formula, the World Health Organisation (WHO( and the UN children's agency Unicef warned, in a new report.

It found that the US$55 billion (S$74 billion) formula milk industry systematically deploys aggressive marketing strategies, spending up to US$5 billion a year to sway parents' decisions on how to feed their infants.

"This report shows very clearly that formula milk marketing remains unacceptably pervasive, misleading and aggressive," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement.

Unicef chief Catherine Russell called for "robust policies, legislation and investments in breastfeeding to ensure that women are protected from unethical marketing practices".

Experts have long extolled the health benefits of breastfeeding, saying that breast-fed children are healthier, perform better on intelligence tests and are less likely to be overweight or suffer from diabetes later in life.

Women who breastfeed also have a reduced risk of breast and ovarian cancer, research shows.

'Marketing is everywhere'

But despite the known benefits, only 44 per cent of babies under the age of six months are exclusively breastfed, as recommended by the WHO and Unicef.

And while global breastfeeding rates have increased little in the past two decades, the sale of formula milk has more than doubled over the same period, Wednesday's report said.

Lead report author Nigel Rollins, of the WHO's maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health division, blamed the industry's aggressive marketing practices.

"We see marketing everywhere," he told AFP, pointing to targeted digital messaging, promotional gifts to new parents, and even efforts to turn health professionals into a "conduit for messages about formula".

The report, which surveyed 8,500 parents and pregnant women and 300 health workers across eight countries in various regions of the world, found that more than half of parents and pregnant women said they had been targeted with formula marketing.

In Britain, 84 per cent of all women surveyed said they had been exposed to such marketing, while 97 per cent in China had, "increasing their likelihood of choosing formula feeding", the UN agencies said.

Pseudoscience

Rollins pointed to how companies use pseudoscience to suggest that breast milk is not enough on its own or that formula does a better job of helping babies to sleep through the night.

"Children or babies crying, not sleeping, are very worrisome to parents, and the industry uses those moments to say our product is the solution for your problem," he said.

Wednesday's report voiced particular concern about marketing targeting of health care professionals with free samples, promotional gifts, research grants, and paid conferences.

Over a third of the women surveyed said a health worker had recommended a specific brand of formula to them, it found.

Rollins stressed the goal was not to clear store shelves of formula, acknowledging that breast feeding is not an option for all parents.

But he insisted far more needed to be done to ensure adherence to an international code of conduct adopted by the World Health Assembly back in 1981, demanding that formula not be marketed or distributed in a way that interferes with the promotion of breastfeeding.

Wednesday's report did not name specific companies, painting the problem as an industry-wide issue.

In a statement on behalf of the companies, the International Special Dietary Foods Industries said its members complied with all laws and regulations in the countries in which they operate.

“Our members support efforts by national governments to ensure compliance with all national laws and regulations. Our members are ready to work together with all stakeholders to support optimal infant health and well-being,” it added.

Ms Marie Chantal Messier, head of food and industry affairs at Switzerland-based Nestle, said the company supports laws on the marketing of infant formula in all countries and has policies in place.

The company does not promote formula for infants aged 0-12 months in 163 countries and will stop promoting it for infants aged 0-6 months globally by year-end, she said.

In an emailed statement, Danone said it complies with the WHO code as implemented in national legislation and has a strict global policy for marketing infant formulas which includes a ban on advertising or promoting formulas for children aged 0-6 months.

Chinese dairy company Mengniu declined to comment on the report while Yili and Feihe did not respond to requests for comment.