Advocates yesterday called on the government to allow the online sale of baby formula, which has been strictly limited — virtually banned, some have said — by a regulation prohibiting marketing of the product.
“Formula is not a parent’s enemy, much less the enemy of breast milk,” New Power Party Legislator Claire Wang (王婉諭) told a news conference at the legislature in Taipei.
Formula cannot be sold online under a 2014 Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rule prohibiting its advertisement, making it difficult for parents in more remote areas to purchase, she added.
Photo: CNA
Baby formula is often out of stock in shops, and its lack of availability online further frustrates mothers who are unable to breastfeed or who find doing so difficult, Wang said.
On rare occasions when formula can be sold online, rules restrict sellers from listing nutritional information, and many parents are afraid to ask for the information because of stigma around using formula, she said.
While she supports banning predatory sales practices, Wang said the definition of “advertising” is too broad if it prevents formula sales and the availability of nutritional information.
Other countries have forbidden advertising baby formula while allowing its online sale, Taiwan Women’s Link chairwoman Huang Sue-ying (黃淑英) said.
Government policy toward breastfeeding is at the root of the problem, as it is striving to meet a WHO goal of 50 percent exclusive breastfeeding among infants younger than six months by 2025, she said.
Formula is a type of food, but the FDA regulates it more strictly than pharmaceuticals, Huang said, adding that the agency should provide its reasons.
According to an FDA official, the agency instituted the rule in 2014 based on the WHO’s International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes, as part of its push to meet the 50 percent goal.
As it has received numerous calls to revisit the regulation, the FDA said it would invite experts to discuss help draft definitions for advertising and online sales of baby formula, the official said.
The international code does not prohibit the sale of formula, just its marketing, a Health Promotion Administration official said.
It should also be clarified whether food labeling rules in the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation (食品安全衛生管理法) could be applied without it being considered advertising, the official said.
Wang said the online purchase of formula does not contravene the premise of the WHO’s breastfeeding goal.
She also called for clarification of regulations and the FDA approval process for formula so that parents can be better informed about the issue.
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