Unauthorized baby formula on Sulaymaniyah shelves despite ban

SULAYMANIYAH, August 26 — As many as 14 banned baby formula brands are available for sale in local markets in Sulaymaniyah despite a ban in place since 2022.

In a directive issued on August 10, 2022 by the Kurdistan region’s Ministry of Health, certain types of baby formula were prohibited from being sold and traded in the markets for failing quality assurance testing.

This directive predates a memorandum from the Ministry of Health to the Directorate General of Governorates and Autonomous-Administration on September 19, 2022 banning 14 specific baby formula brands from markets.

The brands listed in the Ministry of Health’s memorandum are two types of Aptamil; all types of Baby Milk; Dielac 1, 2, 3; Metrogram; Alphamino; and Baby Silk.

Soran Abdulghafur, Director of Sulaymaniyah’s Commercial Control, told 964: “According to the information we’ve received, none of these baby formula brands have passed inspection and they will be seized from the markets.”

A tour of Sulaymaniyah’a markets on Saturday confirmed a significant number of the mentioned baby formula brands still present on the shelves, indicating that they have not been seized yet.