LAHORE: The Punjab Food Authority and the Breast Feeding Protection Unit of the Integrated Reproductive Maternal Newborn, Child Health and Nutrition Programme on Thursday decided to regulate the formula milk and other food items for the infants.

In a meeting held here, the PFA and the Health department’s IRMNCH and nutrition programme officials discussed the relevant laws that allowed the departments to regulate the newborn’s food items, particularly the formula milk.

“During the meeting, the officials agreed that quantity of protein in 100 gram formulated milk should be 1.8 gram (minimum) and 3.8 gram (maximum). They were of the view that the companies manufacturing the formula milk must ensure printing the information – “This is not substitute for the mother’s milk” – on the packing.

“Similarly, the meeting participants also agreed to impose a ban on the marketing of such food items in the hospitals,” a PFA spokesman said while sharing the meeting’s proceedings.

The spokesman said it was also decided that marketing of the newborns’ food would be monitored and regulated. He said the PFA director general pledged to ensure provision of safe and healthy food to all, including the infants.

Meanwhile, PFA teams on Thursday sealed a spurious drinks manufacturing factory in Haji Kot (Kala Khatai Road).

Authority’s additional director (operations) said 11,000 bottles of spurious drinks were seized and discarded during the raid, while the machinery being used was also confiscated, reads a press release.

Published in Dawn, September 1st, 2017