ArticlePublic health nutrition2023
Content analysis of on-package formula labelling in Great Britain: use of marketing messages on infant, follow-on, growing-up and specialist formula.
Article in Public health nutrition, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed.
- The Impact of International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) Support on Breastfeeding in the UK and Ireland-A Scoping Review.Maternal & child nutrition · 2026Article
- Cross-Sectional Associations Between Exposure to Commercial Milk Formula Marketing, Beliefs About Its Use, and Socioeconomic Position Among Pregnant Women and Mothers in the UK.Maternal & child nutrition · 2025Article
- Prioritising Profits Over Public Health? Why UK Commercial Milk Formula Marketing Regulations Need to be Strengthened and Enforced, Not Weakened.Maternal & child nutrition · 2025Article
- Healthcare professionals' perspectives on commercial milk formula marketing in the UK: a qualitative study.Archives of disease in childhood · 2025Article
- Formula Labelling in the United Kingdom: Manufacturers' Compliance With the Code, UK Law and Guidance Notes.Maternal & child nutrition · 2025Article
- Health Claims, Product Features and Instructions for Use on the Labels of Potassium-enriched Salt Products: A Content Analysis.Current developments in nutrition · 2024Article
- Research on commercial milk formulas for young children: A scoping review.Maternal & child nutrition · 2024Article
- The Prevalence and Compliance of Health Claims Used in the Labelling and Information for Prepacked Foods within Great Britain.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Perceived influence of commercial milk formula labelling on mothers' feeding choices in Great Britain: a qualitative study.Archives of disease in childhood · 2023Article
- Response to Conway et al. (2023) from mothers and grandmothers: anti-industry bias, not formula marketing, is hurting us.Public health nutrition · 2023Article
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5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo explore on-package formula messaging with reference to legislation and government-issued guidance in Great Britain (GB).
designFormula products were identified, pictures of all sides of packs collated and on-package text and images were coded. Compliance with both GB legislation and guidance issued by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) was assessed.
settingAll formula packs that were available for sale over the counter in GB between April and October 2020.
participantsFormula packs (
resultsIn total, 41 % of formula packs included nutrition claims, and 18 % included health claims that may be considered non-permitted, according to DHSC guidance. Additionally, 72 % of products showed images considered 'non-permitted'. Breast Milk Substitute (BMS) legislation states infant and follow-on formula packs should be clearly distinguishable but does not provide criteria to assess similarity. Based on DHSC guidance, 72 % of infant and follow-on formula packs were categorised as showing a high degree of similarity. Marketing practices not covered by current legislation were widespread, such as 94 % of infant formula packs including advertisements for follow-on or growing-up formula.
conclusionsText and images considered non-permitted according to DHSC guidance for implementing BMS legislation were widespread on formula products available in GB. As terms such as 'similarity' are not defined in BMS legislation, it was unclear if breaches had occurred. Findings support the WHO call for loopholes in domestic legislation to be closed as a matter of urgency.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.