By Martin Banks - 7th April 2011
We have to be extra careful about ensuring they are not misled
Glenis Willmott
MEPs have given a mixed reaction after parliament voted to allow the producers of infant formula milk to claim that it is as healthy for babies as breast feeding.
This is despite fears from the World Health Organisation and the royal college of paediatrics and child health in the UK that such advice could mislead mothers.
A vote in the European parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday failed by eight votes to garner enough support to prevent a claim that formula milk can improve a baby's eyesight.
EU food regulators have ruled that the formula milk manufacturer Mead Johnson is permitted to claim that an omega fatty acid, DHA, added to formula milk "contributed to the visual development of infants up to 12 months of age".
Julie Girling, a UK Conservative MEP, defended the right of manufacturers to make such claims.
Speaking after the vote, she said, "There is absolutely no evidence that DHA is anything other than beneficial to babies. Denying this information on the grounds that mothers are not fit to make decisions for themselves is an example of the overbearing EU nanny state at its worst."
But other MEPs reacted angrily to the vote, with another British MEP, Glenis Willmott, saying, "What is in the best interests of a multinational's marketing department, might not be in the best interests of parents.
"Parents of young children are a group of consumers who are particularly vulnerable to marketing messages of this kind."
Willmott, a Socialist deputy, said, "We have to be extra careful about ensuring they are not misled."
Her comments were partly echoed by UK Independence Party MEP Paul Nuttall, who said, "UKIP voted against the commission proposal and in favour of the motion of resolution.
"This was to prevent pharmaceutical companies putting false health claims on formula milk.
"UKIP put child welfare first while others were acting as lobby fodder for large pharma conglomerates.
"Their action was shameful, and calls into question their cosy relationship companies who are always handy for a large donation."
Nuttall added, "This move to prevent false health claims was defeated by a mere eight votes. I am appalled that Tories would not only vote for the proposal in hand but also lobby on behalf of pharmaceutical companies."
