BMJ article
Jane Teather <[email protected]>
| Newsgroups | gmane.comp.infodesign.general |
|---|---|
| Message-ID | <[email protected]> |
Today’s /British Medical Journal (BMJ)/ contains a report of research on a dangerously misleading product label. I think the online mag is subscription-only, so this link may not work: http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/337/sep09_2/a1379 So here is a summary: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ In Laos a popular coffee creamer is marketed with an illustration of a mother bear holding a baby bear in the breastfeeding position. The first listed ingredient is sugar and it contains 3.6% of calories as protein and 27.3% as fat. For infant formulas the recommended content is 7.2-12.0% protein and 40-54% fat. The coffee creamer is sold in many rural roadside shops. The company uses the same Bear Brand logo on its canned sterilised cows’ milk product and on infant formula products for infants from 6 months. A warning on the can states "This product is not to be used as breast milk substitute" in English, Thai, and Lao. There is also an illustration of a feeding bottle with a cross through it. *Results of research:* Of 26 paediatricians surveyed, 24 said that parents "often" or "sometimes" fed this product to infants as a substitute for breast milk. In the capital city, paediatricians said that mothers used the product when they returned to work. In the countryside, they reported that poor families used it when the mother was ill or died. Of 1098 adults surveyed, 96% believed that the can contains milk; 46% believed the Bear Brand logo indicates that the product is formulated for feeding to infants or to replace breast milk; 80% had not read the written warning on the can; and over 18% reported giving the product to their infant at a mean age of 4.7 months (95% confidence interval 4.1 to 5.3) *Conclusion:* The Bear Brand coffee creamer is used as a breast milk substitute in Laos. The cartoon logo influences people’s perception of the product that belies the written warning "This product is not to be used as a breast milk substitute." Use of this logo on coffee creamer is misleading to the local population and places the health of infants at risk. -- Regards Jane _______________________________ Jane Teather JET Documentation Services 54A Ferme Park Road London N4 4ED tel: +44 (0) 20 8348 9213 mobile: +44 7967 366 252 [email protected] Fellow of the Communication Research Institute http://www.communication.org.au ___________________________________________________________________ Use the following address to post a message to all subscribers: [email protected] To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your options, visit: http://list.InformationDesign.org/mailman/listinfo/infodesign-cafe For all Information Design matters: http://InformationDesign.org Problems? Write to: [email protected] ___________________________________________________________________