Controlling over Young Child Food Marketing Promotion
The Department of Health under the Ministry of Public Health has initiated a campaign to encourage mothers of 6 months and below infants to be fed with breast milk and 6 months and above infants to be fed with breast milk continuously along with appropriate food until 2 years old or longer as per the guidelines of the International Code of Marketing of Breast-Milk Substitutes (Milk Code) of World Health Organization. It is aimed to support mothers to breastfeed as much as possible, and ensure that consumers, particularly mothers who are unable to fully breastfeed, receive accurate information regarding infant and young child food.
As of such campaign, the Ministry of Public Health has enacted the Control of Marketing of Infant and Young Child Food Act B.E.2560 (2017) (Act) to promote and support the guidelines of the Milk Code. The Act has been introduced with a strict definition regarding the marketing promotion of Infant Food. However, the specific definition specifying Young Child food marketing promotion has yet to be enacted resulting in ineffective control over marketing communications of young child’s food especially the provisions regarding the prohibition of advertisement and product labels.
The Ministry of Public Health, therefore, has proposed the draft Notification regarding the Determination of the Marketing Promotion of Young Child Food Being Controlled B.E. …. (Draft Notification) stating that “Young Child Food” specifies in section 3 of the Act includes milk or any other product used as food. The Draft Notification also specifies statements being able to be used for feeding young child and communication or marketing communication in a manner associating with or causing the understanding that it is infant food or suitable for feeding infants.
The statements being able to be used are as follows:
- Contain a message on the product label that is used for feeding young child.
- Contain a message on the product label or in marketing communication in a manner associated with young child.
- Contain the message, name, or ingredients of nutrients that are appropriate and sufficient for feeding young child on the product label or in marketing communication.
- Present the nutritional value of young child Food on the product label or marketing communication.
- Present the span of age number of young child on the product labels or in marketing communication.
The Draft Notification was opened for public hearing from 23 April to 7 May 2024, after which it will be presented to the Minister of Public Health for consideration and signing before being published in the Royal Gazette. The Draft Notification will become effective 180 days after its publication date.
Author: Panisa Suwanmatajarn, Managing Partner.
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