UK regulators are being called upon to “curb the rise in the cost of infant formula”, following a damning report released by the Competitions and Market Authority (CMA) earlier this month.
The call follows a survey launched by the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) that spoke to over 1000 mothers with formula-fed babies under 1 year old. It found that 65% of mothers were worried about the rising costs of feeding their infants with baby formula.
The same number of women described the expense as having a ‘negative impact’ on their finances, while a further third of respondents believed it was “better” for babies to be fed more costly milk, despite no evidence of any nutritional differences between brands.
The research also shed light on the need for more support from parents, with 83% of the mothers surveyed wanting more help with the cost of formula milk, from loyalty points and vouchers from retailers to government-subsided products and price caps.
Currently, under the UK retail laws, discounts and promotional activity for infant formula milk are not allowed.
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BPAS chief executive Clare Murphy, spoke about the “toll” the price of formula has on mothers.
She added: “Our report clearly shows the toll the current cost of formula is having on women and their families. For some women this was also compounded by a sense of guilt and shame around not breastfeeding. This must change.”
“Supporting breastfeeding does not need to come at the, quite literal, expense of failing to tackle the issues of access to an affordable, consistent supply of formula milk, and we need some bold initiatives to achieve this.
“Infant feeding, whether by breast or bottle, is both a child health issue and a matter of reproductive choice. We must get this right.”
The data comes amid the CMA’s report earlier this month that found the price of infant formula had soared by 25% in the last couple of years, with brands putting their price up higher than the rise in cost of the commodity.
Iceland boss Richard Walker has called the price hikes “exploitation”. “We need this to stop immediately. This is a cost-of-living crisis,” Walker said on social media platform X earlier this month.
The frozen food specialist illegally lowered the price of infant formula by 20% and is now selling it at cost, according to Walker.
