Nestle made an effort to expand their product globally it decided to send representatives to third world countries and dressing up those representatives in white nurse outfits, thus giving the implication that they were trained medical personnel. They gave free samples of formula to hospitals and area health workers, Nestle gave gifts to encourage these healthcare institutions to promote their baby formula to nursing mothers.
The basis for the crisis is that over one million infants had died. The fact is not that the formula was killing babies in these Third World countries, the fact is that mothers of these dying infants were not using potable water when mixing the formula and not sterilizing baby bottles and nipples, thus causing sickness and disease and death in the infants. Some of these infants were lactose intolerant so their systems were rejecting the infant formula. (Iml, 2006) The mothers in these countries were not shown the proper way to utilize the infant formula and sterilize their baby's bottles.
Also, the formula being sold in these countries was and still is very expensive, averaging 40 to 50 percent of the households' income, forcing the mothers' to dilute the formula in order to conserve formula and money. Nestle also promoted free formula to breastfeeding mothers knowing that in time the formula provided to them will run out while their breast milk also dried up thus inducing the infants mothers to buy more of the formula that now their infants were being accustomed to drink. (Earlham.edu, 2006)
In the crisis of the Nestle infant formula many policies were violated. Advertising of their product inside clinics, lack of information, instruction and manipulation of the market are some. Bribery and gifts to health institutions for promoting their infant formula inside their clinics but they would also receive...