Tackling conflicts of interest: News in the British Medical Journal (BMJ)
During January 2025, three news pieces were published in the BMJ following our alert to conflicts of interest:
1. “Danone’s use of midwives to give branded infant feeding advice in supermarket sparks anger”
During November 2024, we were contacted by a midwife to alert us to a conflict of interest, where Tesco stores were piloting a service for midwives to be available in-store to provide infant feeding services while customers shopped. The problem was that Danone was funding this project, through its Aptaclub programme, run by Nutricia. The project included branded Aptaclub leaflets, uniforms and an online booking system done through Aptaclub. The Aptaclub branding is very similar to that of Aptamil formula, Danone’s flagship product. This raises a clear conflict of interest, where a company that stands to profit from increased sales of its product (infant formula) was paying health professionals to provide infant feeding support. The risk was that the service was not impartial or free from commercial and marketing influence. This news piece was published on 8 January 2025, drawing substantial media coverage, including a radio interview on LBC news between Shelagh Fogerty, with our Senior Nutritionist, Dr Katie Pereira-Kotze and the midwife who alerted us to this, Marina Jordan. Before publication, Tesco maintained they would continue the pilot and roll out the project to other stores.
2. “Unethical infant feeding service is axed in Tesco climbdown”
However, Tesco then subsequently announced that they would conclude the pilot at the end of January and re-evaluate how they support customers in future, as reported in afollow-up news piecein the BMJ on 15 January 2025. We feel this is an example of successful advocacy that created awareness of an inappropriate partnership and resulted in the service being stopped. While the principle of a retailer providing an infant feeding service is not objectionable, it would need to be implemented without funding or support from the formula industry using information that is aligned with NHS advice, evidence based, and free from any commercial influence.
3. “Midwifery conference criticised for repeatedly accepting formula milk sponsorship”
The British Journal of Midwifery (BJM) has presented anannual conferencesponsored by the commercial milk formula industryfor several years. We have repeatedly alerted the BJM to the conflict of interest this presents. In 2024, the British Medical Journal published this commentary,Midwifery conference is criticised over formula milk sponsors, and on 28 January 2025 they published this follow-up commentary:Midwifery conference criticised for repeatedly accepting formula milk sponsorship. It is very disappointing that despite the strong global guidance, and calls from academics, researchers, and health professionalsin the UKandglobally, the BJM conference still appears to be continuing with sponsorship from the formula industry, supporting businesses before infant and maternal health. It goes without saying, do avoid if you wish to adhere to the Code.