The International Code of Substitutes consists of a set of recommendations aimed at regulating the aggressive and improper marketing of human milk substitutes, bottles and teats, which compete with breastfeeding.
In 1981, the 34th World Health Assembly adopted the International Code of Marketing of Human Milk Substitutes as a minimum requirement to protect and promote adequate feeding of infants and young children.
The Code advocates for breastfeeding of infants and also, if not breastfed, for the safe feeding of infants with the best nutritional alternative available. Human milk substitutes should not be promoted, but should be available when needed, with adequate information, and through appropriate marketing and distribution methods.
A person's decision to breastfeed should be based on unbiased information and must be free from any commercial bias. Free access to human milk substitutes and their invasive promotion often negatively affects such a decision. Overstated claims about the nutritional properties of substitutes encourage families to spend their resources on products that do not surpass human milk in contributions to nutrition, growth and, in the future, economic and social development.
The Code is an expression of the will of governments to ensure the protection and promotion of optimal feeding of infants and young children.
