Abstract
Infant nutrition is a key determinant of health. The International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes aims to contribute to the provision of safe and adequate nutrition for all infants through the protection, promotion, and support of breastfeeding, and to ensure the safety of formula fed babies. Aotearoa New Zealand is opting out of proposed joint Australia/NZ infant formula marketing standards that would have brought NZ more into line with international best practice. This decision is a missed opportunity to protect infant health, to make sure parents and caregivers have accurate information about products, and to support product affordability. In this Briefing, we describe how the commercial milk formula industry undermines infant health. The NZ Government needs to recognise that industry self-regulation is not working, and that regulations and laws relating to infant and young child nutrition are necessary to protect health