The Knesset’s Economics Committee, chaired by MK Michael Bitton, today (Monday) discussed a proposal for an order submitted by MK Emily Moati, regarding the need to supervise baby food products. Chairman Bitton opened the meeting and praised the government for the food security project, and at the conclusion of the discussion added that the committee asks the ministers of welfare and health to allocate NIS 20 million in the upcoming budget for baby food security, in addition to the general food security plan.
During the discussion, Chairman Bitton criticized the fact that the representatives of the Maltese, Similak and Neutrilon companies did not come to the discussion, and said: In advertising. If we think it is right, we will promote a bill in their field, and when we promote the bill, the companies will be here and their lobbyists will be here and a few more will be here, and I have a message for nature, Similac and Materna – the Knesset will enact a law to take care of yours.
MK Moati said she does not intend to drop her bill on the issue, as 26,000 babies go to bed hungry. She added that milk substitutes are the coolest product in the pharma chains, and asked: “How can we look in the mirror when we make good people commit a crime just because we have not fulfilled our role? It cannot be that the treatment of the issue has been rolling from the Knesset to the Knesset for 20 years. “
MK Uriel Bosso, who also submitted a bill on the subject, said that in France the price is 8 euros for a larger package. He added that there are tens of thousands of children who sleep hungry every night and it is impossible to say that our hand has not shed this blood. MK Uri Maklev added that the fact is that there is no competition and without government intervention it will not be possible to address the issue.
The director of the Department of Childbirth at the Ministry of Health, Dina Zimmerman, said that a move to subsidize breast milk substitutes should only be made for children up to one year of age, and accompanied by a nutritionist, as well as to subsidize the encouragement of breastfeeding for women. The president of the Israeli Forum for Sustainable Nutrition, Dorit Adler, warned that we are facing price increases and difficulties in importing, and therefore we need to promote a reduction in TMAL along with a ban on advertising and a breastfeeding subsidy. The founder of a turning point, Ran Melamed, said that in the United States there is a food security plan for mothers and mothers at a cost of $ 6 billion, while in Israel the same plan can be implemented at a cost of only NIS 20 million and solve the problem.
The representative of the budget department at the Ministry of Finance, Yuval Teller, addressed the issue of supervision and said: “We think the benefit will be less than the damage it will produce.” He added that Materna now has a market share of 51%, Similac 26% and Neutrilon with 21%, while Neutrilon has risen since 2015 from 10 to 20 percent mainly at the expense of Materna.
The representative of the Ministry of Economy, Rimona Chen, referred to the decision in the past to examine putting the product under supervision, and said that it was accepted so that it would be possible to obtain all the accounting data. According to her, the companies subsequently transferred all the data and it was found that their profitability was reasonable and no supervision was imposed.
The representative of the Competition Authority, Tzachi Berkowitz, said that in the past, the Authority has identified barriers to competition in the exclusivity arrangements in hospitals, and dealt with this in an agreed order prohibiting companies from paying hospitals for exclusivity. Chairman Bitton asked whether the authority intended to take further steps, and Berkowitz replied that the agreed order had been made. In response, Bitton said there did not appear to be a plan.
The director of MDA’s breast milk bank, Sharon Tsabari, said that the TAML companies do not profit from the first-stage compounds, but from second- and third-stage compounds and they subsidize the first stage. According to her, the profitability test was done in the past only on the first stage and therefore the price does not seem to be exorbitant. She added that about 40% of the companies’ expenses are on marketing and that is an unfair and unethical amount. According to her, in Australia marketing for births up to a year is banned and in return prices have dropped by 30-40 per cent.
Chairman Bitton summed up the discussion and said that the committee calls on the ministers of welfare and health and the directors of their ministries to hold a series of meetings on food security, and to submit a report to the committee within two months. He added that the committee calls on the ministers of welfare and health to allocate NIS 20 million in the upcoming budget for baby food security and called on the Competition Authority and the Ministry of Economy to examine the conduct of TAML companies and advertising and marketing expenses, and to declare Materna a monopoly.
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