Washington—Three US dairy industry groups on Monday urged the Obama administration to challenge a World Health Organization (WHO) proposal that would discourage the consumption of dairy products by young children.
At issue is a WHO guidance document that will be presented to the World Health Assembly (WHA) later this month, despite repeated requests from dairy organizations to fix significant problems with the proposal.
The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) and US Dairy Export Council (USDEC) urged the US government to seek further scientific review of, and changes to, the WHO guidance and how it may be used in the future.
“Discouraging parents from providing milk, one of the most nutritious foods in the human diet, to their children flies in the face of common sense,” the dairy groups said in a letter to President Obama. “Increased milk and dairy product consumption in recent years has helped improve nutritional outcomes for hundreds of millions of children around the world.”
Earlier this year, the WHO released the draft guidance document that contradicts existing United States and international nutrition policy, NMPF, IDFA and USDEC noted.
It would dictate sweeping new restrictions, directly discouraging consumption of milk, as well as other new limits on various foods including dairy products, by children up to age three.
The WHO document “wrongly” portrays milk and dairy products as obstacles to a good start in life, the letter noted, rather than as essential building blocks for proper nutrition.
“Milk is the original nutritional superfood, yet the WHO is committed to a position that would discourage the consumption of milk and milk products,” said Jim Mulhern, NMPF’s president and CEO.
“Given its unwavering commitment to the health of our children, we encourage the administration to take the necessary steps to press the WHO to reconsider this deeply flawed guideline,” said Connie Tipton, IDFA’s president and CEO.
“Our exporters have worked with countless local processors to help kids get a better start in life through higher rates of dairy consumption. The US government has to ensure the WHO doesn’t throw the baby out with the bathwater by discouraging the benefits of dairy consumption through misdirected advice on good nutrition for children,” said Tom Suber, USDEC’s president.
