Infant Nutrition Council – About Us

Background

The Infant Nutrition Council Ltd was established in 2009 and is an amalgamation of the Infant Formula Manufacturers’ Association of Australia (IFMAA) and the New Zealand Infant Formula Marketers’ Association (NZIFMA). The Infant Nutrition Council represents the significant majority of companies marketing and manufacturing infant formula in Australia and New Zealand.

The members of the Infant Nutrition Council work with key stakeholders to support the public health goals of promoting breastfeeding and good nutrition for infants.

The Council aims to:

  1. improve infant nutrition by supporting the public health goals for  the protection and promotion  of breastfeeding and, when needed, infant formula as the only suitable alternative;
  2. represent the infant formula industry in Australia and New Zealand

Code of Conduct

Marketing Codes

Infant Nutrition Council members are signatories to the Marketing in Australia of Infant Formulas: Manufacturers and Importers Agreement 1992 (MAIF Agreement) and in New Zealand members have adopted the Infant Nutrition Council Code of Practice for the Marketing of Infant Formula (formerly the NZIFMA Code of Practice).

These agreements are the local interpretations in Australia and New Zealand of the International Code of Marketing of Breast-Milk Substitutes 1981 (WHO Code).

Infant Nutrition Council members support the aims of the WHO Code, which is:

“…to contribute to the provision of safe and adequate nutrition for infants, by the protection and promotion of breast feeding and by ensuring the proper use of breast milk substitutes, when they are necessary, on the basis of adequate information and through appropriate marketing and distribution.”

Membership

Member companies represented by Infant Nutrition Council:

  • Bayer
  • Fonterra
  • Heinz
  • Nestlé
  • Nutricia
  • Wyeth

Associate Member:

  • Dairy Goat Co-operative (N.Z.) Ltd

Secretariat

The Infant Nutrition Council is based in Canberra and is managed by its CEO, Jan Carey. Jan was also the Executive Director of both IFMAA and NZIFMA for the past 2 years.

Prior to her appointment Jan was responsible for driving the work of SIDS and Kids, Australia. She was influential in expanding the SIDS organisations’ research and family services both nationally and internationally into the perinatal area to include stillbirth and neonatal death.

Jan was Chair of SIDS and Kids Scientific Advisory Committee, a member of the Global Strategy Task Force for education and SIDS and Kids’ representative on SIDS International from 2001. She was also an Executive Board member of the International Stillbirth Alliance from 2004 to 2007 and is a cofounder of the Australian and New Zealand Stillbirth Alliance (ANZSA).

Jan has presented papers on a number of issues including Indigenous infant mortality, the importance of peer support, safe sleeping for infants and strategies to reduce stillbirth to scientific and other forums including SIDS International, the European Society for the Study and Prevention of Infant Death, the International Stillbirth Alliance and the Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand.

She has been nominated for and received a number of awards for her work with SIDS and Kids including:

  • 2002 – Finalist in the Telstra Business Women of the Year, Hudson Community and Government Award
  • 2006 – International Women’s Day Award for outstanding contribution to saving babies lives
  • 2006 – SIDS and Kids Award for outstanding contribution in driving the advocacy strategy to reduce perinatal, infant and young child mortality.