Danone campaign not supported, Turkish ministry says

ANKARA

Danone’s Turkish baby nutrition arm is accused of misleading mothers. REUTERS photo

The Turkish health ministry ruled out a British report that claims it supported Danone’s formula milk product Aptamil’s marketing in Turkey, which has been accused of misleading mothers about breast milk.

“The health ministry has not recommended any company or product,” it said in a written statement yesterday.

The ministry’s statement came in response to an article published by British daily The Independent that reported Danone as saying “Turkish Unicef and the WHO, together with other partners (the Ministry of Health, TV stations, supermarkets, Pediatric Association) supported this campaign.”

The campaign at issue, which has been conducted by the Numil, Danone’s baby nutrition arm in Turkey, suggests mothers with six-month old babies might not be providing enough of their own milk to meet their children’s needs. The Independent said the WHO and Unicef have also denied endorsing the campaign.

The WHO told the daily that Danone did not have permission to use its logo and has written to the company asking it to remove its name within 14 days. Unicef also said it asked Numil to remove its name from campaign materials.