Parents struggling with inflated baby formula prices and misleading health claims
Baby formula companies accused of ‘exploiting a legal loophole’
- Liberal Democrat MP Jess Brown-Fuller is leading renewed calls for the government to address "exploitative" marketing by baby formula companies.
- Companies are accused of inflating prices and making unfounded health claims, misleading parents into believing more expensive formula is nutritionally superior, despite all products being equivalent.
- Firms have been accused of "exploiting a legal loophole" by advertising follow-on milk with packaging similar to unadvertisable newborn formula, and offering discounted products to hospitals, creating a false impression of NHS endorsement.
- A Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) study found widespread issues, including misleading marketing and a 25 per cent price increase in formula over two years, burdening low-income families.
- The CMA has proposed 11 recommendations to strengthen rules and inform parents, which the Department of Health and Social Care is currently considering.