Harassment of health professionals by the infant food industry at scientific events
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11606/s1518-8787.2022056003398Keywords:
Breast-Milk Substitutes, Legislation, Food, Food Publicity, Scientific and Educational Events, Health PersonnelAbstract
OBJECTIVE To analyze the receipt of sponsorships from breast-milk substitute companies by health professionals in scientific events. METHODS Multicenter study (Multi-NBCAL) performed from November 2018 to November 2019 in six cities in different Brazilian regions. In 26 public and private hospitals, pediatricians, nutritionists, speech therapists, and a hospital manager were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. Descriptive analyses were carried out regarding the health professionals’ knowledge about the Norma Brasileira de Comercialização de Alimentos para Lactentes e Crianças de Primeira Infância, Bicos, Chupetas e Mamadeiras (NBCAL – Brazilian Code of Marketing of Infant and Toddlers Food and Childcare-related Products), companies sponsoring scientific events, and material or financial sponsorships received, according to profession. RESULTS We interviewed 217 health professionals, mainly pediatricians (48.8%). Slightly more than half of the professionals (54.4%) knew NBCAL, most from Baby-friendly Hospitals. Most health professionals (85.7%) attended scientific events in the last two years, more than half of them (54.3%) sponsored by breast-milk substitute companies, especially Nestlé (85.1%) and Danone (65.3%). These professionals received sponsorships in the events, such as office supplies (49.5%), meals or invitations to parties (29.9%), promotional gifts (21.6%), payment of the conference registration fee (6.2%) or ticket to the conference (2.1%). CONCLUSION The infant food industries violate NBCAL by harassing health professionals in scientific conferences, offering diverse material and financial sponsorships.
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Copyright (c) 2022 Ana Carla da Cunha Ferreira Velasco, Maria Inês Couto de Oliveira, Cristiano Siqueira Boccolini
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Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico
Grant numbers 408809/2017-5