The regulators have proposed radical changes to the baby formula industry, saying that high prices and brand image lead to “bad results” for parents.
In its final report on prices increase in recent years, competition and authority markets (CMA) have declared that parents could save £ 300 per year by going to low -cost brands which offered the same nutritional advantages.
The regulators have found that many brands cost more than the weekly value of the advantages of people, which led some parents to give up the purchasing formula.
The CMA said the NHS could have its own non -brand baby formula, in order to help reduce prices.
But the watchdog stopped recommending a price ceiling, which he said he was considering last year.
The report was published almost two years after Sky News revealed how a black market Because the baby’s formula had evolved while desperate families had trouble feeding their children.
Parents have openly described having no choice but to steal products, are no longer able to afford the formula as prices went up above inflation.
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The ACM previously declared a 25% increase in prices in the past two years, with only three companies – Nestlé, Kendamil and Danone – controlling 90% of the market.
The guard dog had determined that the lack of manufacturers meant that there was no incentive to compete on prices, which meant that additional factory costs had been passed on “quickly” and entirely to buyers.
The CMA, which has no power to strengthen competition by increasing the number of producers of formulas, said its four main recommendations aimed to provide better results for parents both on choice and price.
He said the formula provided in hospitals should appear in simple packaging to reduce the influence of the brand while parents are in a “vulnerable” setting.
The formula sold in stores should display nutritional information and not have complaints that cannot be easily verified by parents, he said.
He also recommended to extend the prohibition of advertising to include the follow -up formula and allow parents to use good loyalty to buy infants.
Moment of justification for families in difficulty
It is a moment of justification for each parent who had trouble affording a baby formula.
It is the same for each charity that picked up the pieces of a family in crisis because they cannot feed their baby safely. Their long -standing suspicions that parents got a bad deal of the baby formula market were right.
The ACM has examined the industry and recommended the greatest upheaval for decades. The changes they offer are large and could help end the stigma and shame that many families feel due to the difficulties of feeding their babies.
Better information, clearer labeling and greater efforts to allow parents to be all expected for a long time.
No one should have to feel like their only option is to steal baby milk, but that’s exactly what Sky News found when our investigation started two years ago. It was then described to us as a “national scandal” which endangered the health and development of babies.
Baby Banks always reports an endless demand for families who need help, even if prices have started to drop and new brands of budgetary formula enter the market.
The measures recommended to ministers today represent a huge opportunity for change – it is up to governments and industry itself to get there.
Sarah Cardell, CMA Managing Director, said that many parents “choose a brand at a vulnerable time, based on incomplete information, often believing that higher prices must mean better quality”.
“This despite the advice of the NHS indicating that all the brands will meet the nutritional needs of your baby, regardless of the brand or the price.”
The Minister of Public Health, Ashley Dalton, replied: “I salute this report and I would like to thank the competition and the markets of the authority for their in -depth investigation.
“There are many advantages of breastfeeding, but for families who cannot or choose not to breastfeed, it is essential that they can access affordable and high quality formulas. Families should not pay the chances of feeding their babies due to obsolete regulations.
“As part of our change plan, we are determined to make sure that each child has the best start for life. We will carefully examine these recommendations and fully react in due time. »»