Lack of availability of baby formula creating ‘public health crisis’, says MP

Lack of availability of infant formula is creating a “public health crisis”, MPs have been warned.

The Labour MP for Blackpool South Chris Webb also said it needed to be more widely communicated to parents that all baby formulas were tightly regulated to ensure safety and were “nutritionally equivalent”.

During an adjournment debate in the Commons, he told MPs the infant formula market was “highly regulated and should remain so”.

He said: “As a father of a nine-month-old baby, I know how emotionally charged and difficult it is to navigate infant feeding. This period is crucial to a child’s development.

“In their first year, they will triple their birth weight and the foundations of their health are determined for the rest of their lives. It’s vital that parents have access to safe and affordable food during infancy, the fact is that for too many families this isn’t reality. It is a public health crisis.”

A report from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found that between March 2021 and April 2023, the average price per pack of powdered cows’ milk-based infant formula increased by 25%.

The CMA also found that regulations on formula, put in place to avoid discouraging breastfeeding, actively “incentivises a disproportionate reliance on brand building” and “strongly disincentivises price competition”.

Mr Webb described the growing trend of “formula foraging” as low-income parents attempted to feed their children.

He said: “I regularly read heartbreaking posts on local forums from parents begging for baby milk to tide them over till the next pay day, they are in utter despair.

“But seeking out cheap or free milk online risks feeding your baby a product that could be out of date or already open and potentially laden with bacteria.

“Studies have shown how the inability to afford formula can lead to unsafe feeding practices – skipping feeds, ignoring expiry dates, over diluting powdered formula or bulking it out using alternative, unapproved foods like porridge, all of which can harm an infant’s health.”

The MP said he would be meeting with supermarkets to push for the creation of “own-brand” infant formulas that would be more affordable for parents.

“The cost to parents of buying the most expensive brand can add up to £1,000 a year, more than twice as much as using an own-brand infant formula. This is despite the fact that strict regulations ensure that these products are nutritionally equivalent,” he said.

“Parents naturally want to do the best for their baby, and decisions about feeding are inevitably made at times when mothers and fathers are at their most vulnerable.”

He added: “The important public health message that all instant formula meets a baby’s nutritional needs must be more effectively communicated.”

Health minister Stephen Kinnock, in his reply, said: “Whilst breastfeeding has significant health benefits, we recognise that for those families who cannot or choose not to breastfeed it is vital they have access to infant formula that is both affordable and high quality.”

Mr Kinnock added: “We will be carefully considering all of the issues and options put forward by the CMA as it develops its final recommendations for Government early next year.”