Marketing in Australia of Infant Formulas (MAIF) Complaints Committee

Role

The MAIF Complaints Committee assesses complaints made against organisations who have signed the MAIF Agreement. The agreement is a voluntary code of conduct for manufacturers and importers of infant formula in Australia. Signatories must not promote infant formula.

The committee has developed guidance documents and provides advice to the Australian Government on interpreting and applying the agreement.

Read the committee’s terms of reference.

Members

Member

Background and experience

Declarations of interest

Debra Thoms – Independent representative (Chair)

Former Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer for the Australian Government

Accepted invitation from Food Standards Australian New Zealand to chair an Independent Expert Panel on the possible addition of 2′-O-fucosyllactose (2′-FL) alone or in combination with Lacto-N-neotetraose (LNnT), produced by microbial fermentation, in infant formula products and formulated supplementary foods for young children.

Declared May 2020

Jane Scott – Public health representative

Former Deputy Head of the School of Public Health at Curtin University.

Recipient of an Australian Government Department of Health, Child and Youth health grant to trial ‘Milk Man’, a breastfeeding app for fathers from rural and remote Western Australia.

Co-investigator on a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Project Grant led by the University of Queensland.

Chair of the recently formed Australian Breastfeeding Association WHO Code Taskforce.

Declared October 2021

Jan Carey – Industry representative

Chief Executive Officer of the Infant Nutrition Council and Executive of the Governing Board for the International Special Dietary Food Industries Association

Nil interests declared.

Meetings

The committee meets as required, based on complaint submissions.

Making a complaint

If you believe a company has breached the MAIF Agreement contact the company in the first instance, as they might work on a solution.

If you are not satisfied with the company’s response:

complete the complaint form (send a separate form for each complaint)
email or post it to the secretariat.

See our guidance documents for help understanding the MAIF Agreement.

Assessment process

The secretariat registers all complaints received and sends them to the committee.

The committee:

reviews the complaint to determine whether it is in scope
advises companies of complaints received
invites the company to give a formal response within 4 weeks
assesses the response
advises both the company and complainant of the final decision
publishes a high-level summary of the outcome.

See a flowchart of the complaints handling process.

If the outcome is out of scope, the committee advises the complainant of the finding and takes no further action.

Complaint outcomes

The MAIF Complaints Committee publishes all outcomes:

on this page for the current financial year
in annual reports for previous financial years.

Complaint	Outcome
2223-01 Received on 11 July 2022 and alleged a breach of clause 5(a) with a newspaper advertisement for toddler milk.	The committee considered this complaint and determined that it was out of scope as toddler milk is not covered by the MAIF Agreement and the company is not a signatory. The company has been invited to sign the MAIF Agreement.
2223-02 Received on 18 August 2022 and alleged a breach of clauses 3(e), 3(g) and 5(a) with an advertisement in a newspaper promoting a product.	The committee considered this complaint in November 2022 and determined it to be not in breach as the advertisement was placed be a third party.
2223-03 Sprout Organic Received on 9 September 2022 and alleged a breach of clause 5(a) with an image on a social media advertisement showing young children holding an infant formula tin.	The committee considered this complaint in November 2022 and determined it a breach of clause 5(a) of the MAIF Agreement as the tin colour is identifiable as infant formula.
2223-04 Sprout Organic Received on 10 September 2022 and alleged a breach of clause 5(a) with an image showing storewide discount and showing approved by dietitians and paediatricians.	The committee considered this complaint in November 2022 and determined it a breach of clause 5(a) of the MAIF Agreement as discounts to infant formula are prohibited under the MAIF Agreement.
2223-05 Received on 11 September 2022 and alleged a breach of clause 5(a) with a video on a social media post with a customer testimonial of their personal experience with formula feeding.	The committee considered this complaint in November 2022 and determined it was not a breach, as the video does not promote infant formula.
2223-06 Sprout Organic Received on 11 September 2022 and alleged a breach of clause 5(a) with an image on a social media post showing a tin of infant formula stating products are back in stock and announcing an award.	The committee considered this complaint in November 2022 and determined it a breach of clause 5(a) of the MAIF Agreement as the inclusion of an image of a tin of infant formula is a means of advertising.
2223-07 Sprout Organic Received on 11 September 2022 and alleged a breach of clause 5(a) with an image on a social media post showing a tin of infant formula stating products are back in stock.	The committee considered this complaint in November 2022 and determined it a breach of clause 5(a) of the MAIF Agreement as the inclusion of an image of a tin of infant formula is a means of advertising.
2223-08 Sprout Organic Received on 11 September 2022 and alleged a breach of clause 5(a) with an image on a social media post showing a tin of infant formula stating products are back in stock.	The committee considered this complaint in November 2022 and determined it a breach of clause 5(a) of the MAIF Agreement as the inclusion of an image of a tin of infant formula is a means of advertising.
2223-09 Sprout Organic Received on 14 September 2022 and alleged a breach of clause 5(a) with a description on a social media post announcing infant formula as a finalist for an award.	The committee considered this complaint in November 2022 and determined it a breach of clause 5(a) of the MAIF Agreement as the text promotes infant formula.
2223-10 Received on 14 September 2022 and alleged a breach of clause 5(a) with a video on a social media post with a testimonial of a personal experience with infant feeding without mention of products.	The committee considered this complaint in November 2022 and determined it out of scope as the video does not include mention of infant formula, products or the company brand.
2223-11 Sprout Organic Received on 14 September 2022 and alleged a breach of clause 5(a) with an image on a social media story showing a retail shelf displaying a range of products, including infant formula tins.	The committee considered this complaint in November 2022 and determined it a breach of clause 5(a) of the MAIF Agreement as a tin of infant formula is clearly visible in the posted image.
2223-12 Sprout Organic Received on 15 September 2022 and alleged a breach of clause 5(a) with an image on a social media post showing a tin of infant formula stating products are back in stock.	The committee considered this complaint in November 2022 and determined it a breach of clause 5(a) of the MAIF Agreement as the inclusion of an image of a tin of infant formula is a means of advertising.
2223-13 Received on 17 September 2022 and alleged a breach of clause 5(a) with an image on a social media post which contains a selection of products. Some products do not depict what is available to Australian customers.	The committee considered this complaint in November 2022 and determined it not a breach, as the image did not contain the words ‘infant formula’ and as products sold overseas and not available for an Australian market are not covered under the MAIF Agreement.
2223-14 The LittleOak Company Received on 25 September 2022 and alleged a breach of clause 5(a) with an image on a social media sponsored advertisement showing girls holding hands, with a description including the words ‘baby formula’.	The committee considered this complaint in November 2022 and determined it a breach of clause 5(a) of the MAIF Agreement due to the words ‘baby formula’ used in the description. The committee did not that the children in the image were older than 12 months of age and the product in the image was for older children, which does adhere to the MAIF Agreement.
2223-15 Sprout Organic Received on 26 September 2022 and alleged a breach of clause 5(a) with a company’s re-post of another company’s social media story showing a photo of a company’s product line, including infant formula.	The committee considered this complaint in November 2022 and determined it a breach of clause 5(a) of the MAIF Agreement.
2223-16 Received on 26 September 2022 and alleged a breach of clause 5(a) with a video on a social media post with a customer testimonial of their personal experience with infant feeding including weaning to formula.	The committee considered this complaint in November 2022 and determined it not a breach, as the post does not make promotional mention of infant formula.
2223-17 Received on 26 September 2022 and alleged a breach of clause 5(a) with an image on a social media story displaying a hamper of selected products, including the lid of a tin assumed to be infant formula.	The committee considered this complaint in November 2022 and determined it not a breach, as the age and words ‘infant formula’ are not visible.
2223-23 Received on 16 November 2022 and alleged a breach of clauses 3 and 5(a) claiming promotion of infant food through an online retailer.	The committee considered this complaint and determined that it was out of scope as retailer activity is not in scope of the MAIF Agreement and infant foods are not covered by the MAIF Agreement.
2223-24 Received on 16 November 2022 and alleged a breach of clauses 5(a), 5(d) and 10(a).	The committee considered this complaint and determined that it was out of scope as government funding is not in scope of the MAIF Agreement.
2223-25 Received on 16 November 2022 and alleged a breach of clauses 3(c) and 5(a).	The committee considered this complaint and determined that it was out of scope as government funding is not in scope of the MAIF Agreement.
2223-26 Received on 16 November 2022 and alleged a breach of clauses 3(c) and 5(a).	The committee considered this complaint and determined that it was out of scope as government funding is not in scope of the MAIF Agreement.
2223-27 Received on 16 November 2022 and alleged a breach of clauses 3 and 5(a) claiming promotion of infant foods	The committee considered this complaint and determined that it was out of scope as infant foods are not covered by the MAIF Agreement.
2223-30 Received on 17 November 2022 and alleged a breach of clauses 3(d), 3(e), 3(g), 3(h), 5(a), 5(c), 5(d), 6(a), 6(c), 7(c) and 8(b) with a health care professional having infant formula for sale on their website.	The committee considered this complaint and determined that it was out of scope as health care professional activity is not in scope of the MAIF Agreement.
2223-31 Received on 17 November 2022 and alleged a breach of clauses 3(a), 3(e) and 5(a) relating to the promotion of a supplement making claims linking it to breastmilk.	The committee considered this complaint and determined that it was out of scope as supplements are not in scope of the MAIF Agreement.
2223-32 Received on 18 November 2022 and alleged a breach of clauses 3, 3(e), 3(h) and 5(a) with an image of an infant formula tin and associated text on a social media post from an online retailer.	The committee considered this complaint and determined that it was out of scope as retailer activity is not in scope of the MAIF Agreement.
2223-34 Received on 18 November 2022 and alleged a breach of clause 5(a) with an image of infant formula for sale on through an online store website.	The committee considered this complaint and determined that it was out of scope as retailer activity is not in scope of the MAIF Agreement.
2223-36 Received on 19 November 2022 and alleged a breach of clauses 1, 4(a)(iii), 4(a)(iv), 3(g), 5(a), 5(c) and 7(a) with complaints relating to bottles and teats.	The committee considered this complaint and determined that it was out of scope as the sale of articles or utensils associated with breastmilk substitutes or bottle-feeding is not in scope of the MAIF Agreement.
2223-37 Received on 20 November 2022 and alleged a breach of clause 5(a) with infant formula brand advertising being visible on a manufacturer’s website.	The committee considered this complaint and determined that it was out of scope as the MAIF Agreement allows for adequate information to be provided through appropriate marketing and distribution.
2223-38 Received on 21 November 2022 and alleged a breach of clause 3(c), 3(d), 3 (g), 4 (a)(v), 5(a) and 6(a) with a complaint relating to a footnote in national guidelines.	The committee considered this complaint and determined that it was out of scope as of the MAIF Agreement.
2223-39 Received on 27 November 2022 and alleged a breach of clause 5(a) with infant formula brand advertising being visible on a manufacturer’s website.	The committee considered this complaint and determined that it was out of scope as the MAIF Agreement allows for adequate information to be provided through appropriate marketing and distribution.

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