EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 51
EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 51 - ADOPTING A
NATIONAL CODE OF MARKETING OF BREASTMILK SUBSTITUTES, BREASTMILK
SUPPLEMENTS AND RELATED PRODUCTS, PENALIZING VIOLATIONS THEREOF, AND
FOR OTHER PURPOSES
WHEREAS,
in order to ensure that safe and adequate nutrition for infants is
provided, there is a need to protect and promote breastfeeding and to
inform the public about the proper use of breastmilk substitutes and
supplements and related products through adequate, consistent and
objective information and appropriate regulation of the marketing and
distribution of the said substitutes, supplements and related products;
WHEREAS, consistent with Article 11 of the International Code of
Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes, the present government should
adopt appropriate legislation to give effect to the principles and aim
of the aforesaid International Code;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, CORAZON C. AQUINO, President of the Philippines, do
hereby order:
Section 1. Title. — This Code shall be known and
cited as the “National Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes,
Breastmilk Supplements and Other Related Products”.
Sec. 2. Aim of the Code. — The aim of the Code is
to contribute to the provision of safe and adequate nutrition for
infants by the protection and promotion of breastfeeding and by
ensuring the proper use of breastmilk substitutes and breastmilk
supplements when these are necessary, on the basis of adequate
information and through appropriate marketing and distribution.
Sec. 3. Scope of the Code. — The Code applies to
the marketing, and practices related thereto, of the following
products: breastmilk substitutes, including infant formula; other milk
products, foods and beverages, including bottle-fed complementary
foods, when marketed or otherwise represented to be suitable, with or
without modification, for use as a partial or total replacement of
breastmilk; feeding bottles and teats. It also applies to their quality
and availability, and to information concerning their use.
Sec. 4. Definition of Terms. — For the purposes of
this Code, the following definition of terms shall govern:
(a)
“Breastmilk Substitute” means any food being marketed or otherwise
represented as a partial or total replacement for breastmilk, whether
or not suitable for that purpose.
(b)
“Complementary Food” means any food, whether manufactured or locally
prepared, suitable as a complement to breastmilk or to infant formula,
when either becomes insufficient to satisfy the nutritional
requirements of the infant. Such food is also commonly called “weaning
food” or “breastmilk supplement.”
(c)
“Container” means any form of packaging of products for sale as a
normal retail unit, including wrappers.
(d)
“Distributor” means a person, corporation or any other entity in the
public or private sector engaged in the business (whether directly or
indirectly) of marketing at the wholesale or retail level a product
within the scope of this Code. A “primary distributor” is a
manufacturer’s sales agent, representative, national distributor or
broker.
(e) “Infant”
means a person falling within the age bracket of 0-12 months.
(f) “Health
care system” means governmental, non-governmental or private
institutions or organizations engaged, directly or indirectly, in
health care for mothers, infants and pregnant women; and nurseries or
child care institutions. It also includes health workers in private
practice. For the purpose of this Code, the health care system does not
include pharmacies or other established sales outlets.
(g) “Health
Worker” means a person working in a component of such health care
system, whether professional or non-professional, including volunteer
workers.
(h) “Infant
Formula” means a breastmilk substitute formulated industrially in
accordance with applicable Codex Alimentarius standards to satisfy the
normal nutritional requirements of infants up to between four to six
months of age, and adapted to their physiological characteristics.
Infant formula may also be prepared at home in which case it is
described as “home-prepared”.
(i) “Label”
means any tag, brand, mark, pictorial or other descriptive matter,
written, printed, stenciled, marked, embossed or impressed on, or
attached to, a container of any product within the scope of this
Code.
(j)
“Manufacturer” means a corporation or other entity in the public or
private sector engaged in the business or function (whether directly or
through an agent or an entity controlled by or under contract with it)
of manufacturing a product within the scope of this Code.
(k)
“Marketing” means product promotion, distribution, selling,
advertising, product public relations, and information services.
(l) “Marketing
personnel” means any person whose functions involve the marketing of a
product or products coming within the scope of this Code.
(m) “Sample”
means single or small quantities of a product provided without costs.
(n) “Supplies”
means quantities of a product provided for use over an extended period,
free or at a low price, for social purposes, including those provided
to families in need.
Sec. 5. Information and Education. —
(a)
The government shall ensure that objective and consistent information
is provided on infant feeding, for use by families and those involved
in the field of infant nutrition. This responsibility shall cover the
planning, provision, design and dissemination of information, and the
control thereof, on infant nutrition.
(b)
Information and educational materials, whether written, audio, or
visual, dealing with the feeding of infants and intended to teach
pregnant women and mothers of infants, shall include clear information
on all the following points: (1) the benefits and superiority of
breastfeeding; (2) maternal nutrition, and the preparation for and
maintenance of breastfeeding; (3) the negative effect on breastfeeding
of introducing partial bottle-feeding; (4) the difficulty of reversing
the decision not to breastfeed; and (5) where needed, the proper use of
infant formula, whether manufactured industrially or home-prepared.
When such materials contain information about the use of infant
formula, they shall include the social and financial implications of
its use; the health hazards of inappropriate foods or feeding methods;
and, in particular, the health hazards of unnecessary or improper use
of infant formula and other breastmilk substitutes. Such materials
shall not use any picture or text which may idealize the use of
breastmilk substitutes.
Sec. 6. The General Public and Mothers. —
(a)
No advertising, promotion or other marketing materials, whether
written, audio or visual, for products, within the scope of this Code
shall be printed, published, distributed, exhibited and broadcast
unless such materials are duly authorized and approved by an
inter-agency committee created herein pursuant to the applicable
standards provided for in this Code.
(b)
Manufacturers and distributors shall not be permitted to give,
directly, or indirectly, samples and supplies of products within the
scope of this Code or gifts of any sort to any member of the general
public, including members of their families, to hospitals and other
health institutions, as well as to personnel within the health care
system, save as otherwise provided in this Code.
(c) There
shall be no point-of-sale advertising, giving of samples or any other
promotion devices to induce sales directly to the consumers at the
retail level, such as special displays, discount coupons, premiums,
special sales, bonus and tie-in sales for the products within the scope
of this Code. This provision shall not restrict the establishment of
pricing policies and practices intended to provide products at lower
prices on a long term basis.
(d)
Manufacturers and distributors shall not distribute to pregnant women
or mothers of infants any gifts or articles or utensils which may
promote the use of breastmilk substitutes or bottle feeding, nor shall
any other groups, institutions or individuals distribute such gifts,
utensils or products provided by this Code.
(e) Marketing
personnel shall be prohibited from advertising or promoting in any
other manner the products covered by this Code, either directly or
indirectly, to pregnant women or with mother of infants, except as
otherwise provided by this Code.
(f) Nothing
herein contained shall prevent donations from manufacturers and
distributors of products within the scope of this Code upon request by
or with the approval of the Ministry of Health.
Sec. 7. Health Care System. —
(a)
The Ministry of Health shall take appropriate measures to encourage and
promote breastfeeding. It shall provide objective and consistent
information, training and advice to health workers on infant nutrition,
and on their obligations under this Code.
(b) No
facility of the health care system shall be used for the purpose of
promoting infant formula or other products within the scope of this
Code. This Code does not, however, preclude the dissemination of
information to health professionals as provided in Sec. 8(b).
(c) Facilities
of the health care system shall not be used for the display of products
within the scope of this Code, or for placards or posters concerning
such products.
(d) The use by
the health care system of “professional service” representatives,
“mothercraft nurses” or similar personnel, provided or paid for by
manufacturers or distributors, shall not be permitted.
(e) In health
education classes for mothers and the general public, health workers
and community workers shall emphasize the hazards and risks of the
improper use of breastmilk substitutes particularly infant formula.
Feeding with infant formula shall be demonstrated only to mothers who
may not be able to breastfeed for medical or other legitimate reasons.
Sec. 8. Health Workers. —
(a)
Health workers shall encourage and promote breastfeeding and shall make
themselves familiar with objectives and consistent information on
maternal and infant nutrition, and with their responsibilities under
this Code.
(b)
Information provided by manufacturers and distributors to health
professionals regarding products within the scope of this Code shall be
restricted to scientific and factual matters and such information shall
not imply or create a belief that bottlefeeding is equivalent or
superior to breastfeeding. It shall also include the information
specified in Sec. 5(b).
(c) No
financial or material inducements to promote products within the scope
of this Code shall be offered by manufacturers or distributors to
health workers or members of their families, nor shall these be
accepted by the health workers or members of their families, except as
otherwise provided in Sec. 8(e).
(d) Samples of
infant formulas or other products within the scope of this Code, or of
equipment or utensils for their preparation or use, shall not be
provided to health workers except when necessary for the purpose of
professional evaluation or research in accordance with the rules and
regulations promulgated by the Ministry of Health. No health workers
shall give samples of infant formula to pregnant women and mothers of
infants or members of their families.
(e)
Manufacturers and distributors of products within the scope of this
Code may assist in the research, scholarships and continuing education,
of health professionals, in accordance with the rules and regulations
promulgated by the Ministry of Health.
Sec. 9. Persons Employed by Manufacturers and
Distributors. — Personnel employed in marketing products within the
scope of this Code shall not, as part of their job responsibilities,
perform educational functions in relation to pregnant women or mothers
of infants.
Sec. 10. Containers/Label. —
(a)
Containers and/or labels shall be designed to provide the necessary
information about the appropriate use of the products, and in such a
way as not to discourage breastfeeding.
(b) Each
container shall have a clear, conspicuous and easily readable and
understandable message in Pilipino or English printed on it, or on a
label, which message can not readily become separated from it, and
which shall include the following points:
(i)
the words “Important Notice” or their equivalent;
(ii) a
statement of the superiority of breastfeeding;
(iii) a
statement that the product shall be used only on the advice of a health
worker as to the need for its use and the proper methods of use;
and
(iv)
instructions for appropriate preparation, and a warning against the
health hazards of inappropriate preparation.
(c)
Neither the container nor the label shall have pictures or texts which
may idealize the use of infant formula. They may, however, have
graphics for easy identification of the product and for illustrating
methods of preparation.
(d) The term
“humanized”, “maternalized” or similar terms shall not be used.
(e) Food
products within the scope of this Code marketed for infant feeding,
which do not meet all the requirements of an infant formula but which
can be modified to do so, shall carry on the label a warning that the
unmodified product should not be the sole source of nourishment of an
infant.
(f) The labels
of food products within the scope of this Code shall, in addition to
the requirements in the preceding paragraphs, conform with the rules
and regulations of the Bureau of Food and Drugs.
Sec. 11. Quality. —
(a)
The quality of products is an essential element for the protection of
the health of infants, and therefore shall be of high recognized
standard.
(b) Food
products within the scope of this Code shall, when sold or otherwise
distributed, meet applicable standards recommended by the Codex
Alimentarius Commission and also the Codex Code of Hygienic Practice
for Foods for Infants and Children.
(c) To prevent
quality deterioration, adulteration or contamination of food products
within the scope of this Code, distribution outlets, including the
smallest sari-sari store, shall not be allowed to open cans and boxes
for the purpose of retailing them by the cup, bag or in any other form.
Sec. 12. Implementation and Monitoring. —
(a)
For purposes of Sec. 6(a) of this Code, an inter-agency committee
composed of the following members is hereby created:
Minister
of Health
Chairman
Minister of Trade and Industry
Member
Minister of Justice
Member
Minister of Social Services
and Development
Member
The members may designate their
duly authorized representative to every meeting of the
Committee.
The Committee shall have the
following powers and functions:
(1)
To review and examine all advertising, promotion or other marketing
materials, whether written, audio or visual, on products within the
scope of this Code;
(2) To approve
or disapprove, delete objectionable portions from and prohibit the
printing, publication, distribution, exhibition and broadcast of, all
advertising promotion or other marketing materials, whether written,
audio or visual, on products within the scope of this Code;
(3) To
prescribe the internal and operational procedure for the exercise of
its powers and functions as well as the performance of its duties and
responsibilities; and
(4) To
promulgate such rules and regulations as are necessary or proper for
the implementation of Sec. 6(a) of this Code.
(b)
The Ministry of Health shall be principally responsible for the
implementation and enforcement of the provisions of this Code. For this
purpose, the Ministry of Health shall have the following powers and
functions:
(1)
To promulgate such rules and regulations as are necessary or proper for
the implementation of this Code and the accomplishment of its purposes
and objectives.
(2) To call
the assistance of government agencies and the private sector to ensure
the implementation and enforcement of, and strict compliance with, the
provisions of this Code and the rules and regulations promulgated in
accordance herewith.
(3) To cause
the prosecution of the violators of this Code and other pertinent laws
on products covered by this Code.
(4) To
exercise such other powers and functions as may be necessary for or
incidental to the attainment of the purposes and objectives of this
Code.
Sec. 13. Sanctions. —
(a)
Any person who violates the provisions of this Code or the rules and
regulations issued pursuant to this Code shall, upon conviction, be
punished by a penalty of two (2) months to one (1) year imprisonment or
a fine of not less than One Thousand Pesos (P1,000.00) nor more than
Thirty Thousand Pesos (P30,000.00) or both. Should the offense be
committed by a juridical person, the chairman of the Board of
Directors, the president, general manager, or the partners and/or the
persons directly responsible therefor, shall be penalized.
(b) Any
license, permit or authority issued by any government agency to any
health worker, distributor, manufacturer, or marketing firm or
personnel for the practice of their profession or occupation, or for
the pursuit of their business, may, upon recommendation of the Ministry
of Health, be suspended or revoked in the event of repeated violations
of this Code, or of the rules and regulations issued pursuant to this
Code.
Sec. 14. Repealing Clause. — All laws, orders,
issuances, and rules and regulations or parts thereof inconsistent with
this Executive Order are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.
Sec. 15. Separability Clause. — The provisions of
this Executive Order are hereby deemed separable. If any provision
thereof be declared invalid or unconstitutional, such invalidity or
unconstitutionality shall not affect the other provisions which shall
remain in full force and effect.
Sec. 16. Effectivity — This Executive Order shall
take effect thirty (30) days following its publication in the Official
Gazette.
Done in the City of Manila,
this 20th day of October, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and
eighty-six.
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Since 19.07.98.