A twelvemonth aft the American Academy of Pediatrics flagged what it described arsenic "questionable selling practices" by makers of formulas for older infants and toddlers, Abbott Laboratories is being sued implicit however it pitches specified products.
Abbott, a wellness attraction products conglomerate based successful Illinois, is misleading parents and different caregivers astir the nutritional worth of its sugar-laden toddler milks, according to a suit filed Tuesday by the Public Health Advocacy Institute (PHAI) against the shaper of Similac formulas.
Marketed for depletion by children ages 12 to 36 months, toddler beverage is portrayed arsenic the adjacent measurement for small ones aft they person outgrown babe formulas approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Yet dissimilar babe formula, the toddler beverage products are not regulated by the FDA and are perchance harmful, according to PHAI, a nonprofit ineligible probe halfway located astatine Northeastern University School of Law.
Sales of toddler beverage nationwide person averaged much than $500 cardinal a year, according to PHAI's suit, filed successful U.S. territory tribunal for the Northern District of Illinois.
"More than conscionable unnecessary, toddler beverage products tin really beryllium harmful to a child's nutritional health," said George Fuchs, a aesculapian doc and prof of pediatric gastroenterology astatine the University of Kentucky College of Medicine Department of Pediatrics. "The added sugars tin summation a toddler's penchant for sweetened foods, contributing to obesity and different wellness risks passim their lives," noted Fuchs, who led the AAP report connected toddler milks.
Labeled likewise to FDA-regulated babe formulas and sold connected the aforesaid store shelves, Abbott's "Go & Grow Toddler Drink by Similac" and "Pure Bliss Toddler Drink by Similac" are labeled "Stage 3," implying they are the adjacent nutritionally recommended merchandise aft "Stage 1" babe look and "Stage 2" transitional formula, the suit alleges.
"Common toddler beverage selling practices, including unsubstantiated nutrition-related claims and packages that look similar babe formulas, mislead parents and different caregivers to judge that toddler milks supply nutritional benefits for their young children," said Dr. Jennifer Harris, elder probe adviser, selling initiatives astatine the UConn Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health.
Experts including the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend that children supra 12 months be fixed h2o and plain cow's milk.
Abbott did not instantly respond to requests for comment.
Kate Gibson is simply a newsman for CBS MoneyWatch successful New York, wherever she covers concern and user finance.