Mumbai: After taking on restaurants, clubs, and gymkhanas, the FDA has now shifted its focus to taking action against food for infant nutrition, such as infant formula and milk foods.
“While doctors can prescribe infant formula, they cannot suggest brands. Nor can hospitals be used for surrogate advertising of any kind. Additionally, parents increasingly rely on packaging labels and the guidance of health workers, he noted.
Citing findings from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS), he pointed out that breastfeeding—a critical component of immunity development in children—has dropped to a mere 52% in urban India, leaving children vulnerable.
The hospital ecosystem is meant to encourage breastfeeding,” Mundhe said.
Allied sponsorship of events, hospitality, speaker fees, or grants provided to doctors, hospitals, or medical associations for conferences and research by infant food manufacturers to promote their products are strictly prohibited and will henceforth be monitored by the FDA. Hospital pediatricians have been asked to report suspected adverse events related to infant foods—including suspected foodborne illness, sepsis, or meningitis in formula-fed newborns, as well as allergic reactions, foreign matter, and preparation-related illnesses—to the FDA. The authority will then trace the batch, draw samples, and coordinate with the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme.
