Gothamist: Tidbits

brooklynbee

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 11:38:02 -0500

Smitty, good point - I was thinking that myself when I heard the announcment about Nestle. Also, if I recall correctly, another major problem with the Nestle baby formula in many 3rd world countries (in addition to the breast milk issue) was that people were instructed to mix the formula with water, but the water in many instances was contaminated which led to lots of diarrhea and other issues in the infants.

smitty

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 11:12:36 -0500

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that Nestle is the largest manufacturer of baby formula in the entire world, so their problems with the WHO and third world countries have been especially egregious.

smitty

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 11:10:43 -0500

Nestle has actually been involved in baby food production for a LONG time. They've been in controversy since the mid-90s for promoting breat milk substitutes (like their formula, which they gave away in hospitals and clinics in 3rd-World countries), over breast milk. There was a ban on Nestle baby food products in 1998 because they violated the standards of baby food labeling in 3rd world countries put out by the World Health Organization. I'm surprised you guys didn't know about that.

sp

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 11:06:09 -0500

the use of the annoying geeky-hipster word "mashups" in this context, conjurures a disgustingly literal image of baby food mashed together with nestle crunch bars in little glass jars. hmmm, actually, that sounds kinda good...