Mother’s milk is not up for sale, trading or processing, BPNI argues law prohibits its promotion
@the_news_21
New Delhi:The Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India (BPNI) was recently alerted to the fact that Neslak Biosciences, a company in Punjab; claims to transform mother’s milk into powder form and delivers it back as ‘HapiNes Sachets’. It further guides mothers to make use of this powder by dissolving in clean water through a bottle. The company promoted its products to doctors, states a BPNI media statement issued here on Friday.
Union Minister of State, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar, had responded to this policy to a question in the Parliament in July, affirming to stop commercialization of mother’s milk.
A message by Neslak Biosciences to paediatricians reads as follows:
“Dear Doctor, Beyond the collaboration that Neslak Biosciences offers to hospitals towards setting human milk banks, we are now offering first-in-India service for mothers …HapiNes is a service for mothers to transform their own milk into easy-to-use and store powder form. HapiNes helps mothers overcome breaches in breastfeeding, in situations such as re-joining work, night-time feeding, travelling or when mother is sick.”
The Infant Milk Substitutes Feeding Bottles, and Infant Foods (Regulation of Production, Supply and Distribution) Act 1992, and Amendment Act 2003 is stringent Indian law that prohibits such promotion. The above message amounts to promotion, prohibited under Section 3 of IMS Act. It prohibits any person from promoting the ‘infant milk substitute’.
In response to a complaint made by BPNI in September, to the Union Minister of State , MoHFW, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India (GoI), has taken an effective action to prevent such commercialization of mother’s milk. The FSSAI License of Neslak Biosciences Private Limited has been suspended on October 7.
The FSSAI has sent out an advisory, in the form of a DO Letter to the state food commissioners, regional directors as well as all the central licensing authorities; saying that manufacturing and marketing of mother’s milk and /or products derived from mothers milk, have been under scrutiny for quite some time. It said that some of the food business operators had been wrongly obtaining licenses under dairy or other products. The FSSAI has further clarified that processing and sale of human milk is not permitted under the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 (FSS Act 2006) and its rules and regulations.
The company was violating the IMS Act in addition to the commercialization of mother’s milk.
BPNI strongly believes that such commercial trading of human breastmilk and selling in the market is a dangerous trend. It bypasses the need for the education of mothers that they could use their own mother’s milk by storing it in the refrigerator as well as freezing it. This, then can be used in any situations recommended by the company like travelling, joining work etc. There is no need to convert it into powder and then dissolve in water making it unsafe especially for night feeding.
There is a limit to greed, turning mothers’ milk into a tradable and a commercial commodity, said Dr. Arun Gupta, Central Coordinator of BPNI. He added, “The company is actually creating markets around mother’s milk to make fast bucks out of the growing demand and acceptance of the value of breastfeeding”.
For more details – contact person Dr. Arun Gupta – 9899676306. Email – arun.ibfan@gmail.com
Dr. Arun Gupta MD, FIAP.
Central Coordinator,
Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India (BPNI)
Convener, Nutrition Advocacy in Public Interest (NAPi)
Former Member PM’s Council on India’s Nutrition Challenges
