News PATRIK JECH / SHUTTERSTOCK Wrong formula for supporting mothers Unmodified cribs pose risk BLURAZ / SHUTTERSTOCK After the death of a seven-week-old baby, Warwickshire Trading Standards is urging all charity shops and secondhand retailers to be on the lookout for unmodified Bednest bedside cribs. The cribs have been linked by the West Sussex Coroner to the death of the baby in the county, after she was found with her neck resting on a partially lowered crib side. The provisional cause of death was asphyxia. Bednest, based in Stratford-uponAvon, has notified its customers of the availability of a modification kit that prevents the sides from being partially lowered. However, Warwickshire Trading Standards believes unmodified Bednest cribs may be on sale in some secondhand shops and is urging all retailers of used goods to check their stock. For advice, or to report any Bednest crib believed to be unmodified, call trading standards on 03545 040506. The UK is failing in its human rights obligations when it comes to preventing aggressive marketing and misinformation surrounding infant formula, claims Baby Milk Action. Mike Brady, who works as the organisations campaigns and networking coordinator, says it is receiving many more reports of retailers in the UK promoting infant formula in breach of formula marketing regulations, as the two market giants, Nestl and Danone, step up their competition. According to the non-profit organisation, most mothers in the UK saythey wanted to breastfeed for longer and one of the ways they can be helped to do this is by stopping misinformation and aggressive marketing by formula companies. Trading standards is responsible for enforcing the Infant Formula and Formula Regulations (2007) in England and Wales, but this is getting increasingly hard to do. The profession has had its budgets cut by 40 per cent over the past seven years and staffing levels have been slashed by 53 per cent. CTSI chief executive Leon Livermore said: We have a situation where trading standards teams in local councils are tasked with holding multimillion-pound firms to account, with just a handful of staff. Some of the biggest names on the high street have been named by Baby Milk Action in its campaign to regulate marketing practices around baby feed. However, as Brady points out: No prosecution has been brought under the regulations despite repeated violations by retailers such as Tesco, Asda, Morrisons and Boots, and formula manufacturers such as Nestl and Danone. Baby Milk Action plans to step up its campaigning to bring the formula manufacturers and vendors into line by lobbying MPs to oppose further cuts to trading standards and to fund enforcement services properly. The organisation has already achieved success when it opposed moves to decriminalise formula regulations in new Statutory Instruments, which came into force on 20 July 2016. This year it also presented evidence of marketing practices to the UN committees on the Rights of the Child, and on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights, prompting both to call on the UK government to better regulate the formula industry. The Lancet Breastfeeding Series reported in January 2016 that the UK has the worst breastfeeding rates in the world at 12 months of age, with fewer than 0.5 per cent of mothers choosing to breastfeed past this age. Supporting mothers to breastfeed not only improves health outcomes, but it brings savings to the health service and economy as a whole, said Brady. Cutting back on law enforcement is short-termism at its worst. According to Baby Milk Action, marketing has become more aggressive since Nestl, the worlds largest formula company, entered the UK with the takeover of the SMA brand in 2012. Taxi seized in joint op against illicit alcohol Meter readings may prove costly to suppliers Billing errors may end up costing energy companies huge amounts in refunds after Citizens Advice said that customers should not have to pay the price for suppliers mistakes. Problems in billing have arisen because meters may have been set up incorrectly, and this has provoked the ire of the chief executive of Citizens Advice, Gillian Guy. Energy customers shouldnt have to pay for the mistakes of suppliers, she says. Errors like this are unacceptable accurate bills are vital to ensuring customers dont have to pay over the odds for their energy. Ofgem [the industry regulator] is right to call on suppliers to refund customers on any overpayments and companies should do this with urgency. A man who sold illicit alcohol and tobacco from his taxi received a suspended prison sentence, was ordered to pay 1,000 in costs, and had his taxi and other goods and cash seized. Among the items Ian Baldwin, from Runcorn, was selling was counterfeit vodka containing i-Propanol, a chemical used in hand sanitisers, and i-Butanol, which is found in paint solvents and varnish removers. The 50-year-old was sentenced at Runcorn Magistrates Court after pleading guilty to 21 offences relating to the counterfeit and illicit alcohol and tobacco seized last December from his taxi, his personal vehicle and a storage unit. Baldwin, who was working as a taxi driver in Chester, was stopped in his taxi just after leaving his home address in Runcorn, during a joint operation by Halton Trading Standards and Cheshire Police. The haul of illicit handrolling tobacco and cigarettes, plus 26 litres of counterfeit vodka and 108 bottles of illicit wine which were not marked with traceability information had a street value of more than 1,700. The taxi, worth 26,000, was seized by the police because it was being used to facilitate crime, while 790 in cash and three mobile phones were also confiscated. Paul Thompson, Halton Trading Standards enforcement officer (criminal), said: While trading standards dont have powers to seize vehicles per se, the police do. In this joint operation, the police seized the vehicle, which was later signed over to trading standards and, uponprosecution, a forfeiture request was made to magistrates by Halton Council under s.143 of the Powers of the Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act2000. Officers tend to be reluctant to get involved in the seizure of vehicles; yet it often has a bigger impact on the defendant than the paltry sentences issued by the judiciary, especially when cash, mobile phones and computer equipment are also seized. On analysis, the vodka was found to be unfit for human consumption and unsafe because it contained the chemicals i-Propanol and i-Butanol. i-Propanol is commonly found in rubbing alcohol, hand sanitisers and certain cleaning products, and poisoning with the chemical can cause stomach pain, confusion, dizziness and slowed breathing, and can lead to coma. i-Butanol is used in paint solvents, varnish removers and ink, and poisoning can cause irritation to the eyes, skin and throat, headache anddrowsiness. The taxi driver was sentenced to six months and 12 weeks custody, to run concurrently both suspended for two years a 20-day Community Requirement, plus an order to pay 1,000 in costs and an 80 victim surcharge. Weighty issues for MHRA Young people seeking a quick fix for weight issues are being warned about the dangers of dodgy diet pills. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which is responsible for regulating the use of medicine and medical devices, is launching a FakeMeds campaign to raise awareness of the health risks posed by online diet products. On its website, the MHRA offers practical information on how to recognise legitimate online retailers of medicines and medical devices. Research shows that 79 per cent of the public are unaware of the issue of fake medicine products. In 2015, the MHRA seized 240,000 doses of unlicensed slimming pills and closed down more than 2,000 unauthorised online retailers. The agencys senior policy manager, Lynda Scammell, said: The internet gives access to a vast number of websites offering products marketed as slimming or diet pills. Many offer quick-fix solutions, but the only pounds you will lose will be from your bank balance, and the consequences for your health can be devastating.