Abbott accused of deceiving parents with potentially harmful formula for toddlers

A year after the American Academy of Pediatrics flagged what it described as “questionable marketing practices” by makers of formulas for older infants and toddlers, Abbott Laboratories is being sued over how it pitches such products. 

Abbott, a health care products conglomerate based in Illinois, is misleading parents and other caregivers about the nutritional value of its sugar-laden toddler milks, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday by the Public Health Advocacy Institute (PHAI) against the maker of Similac formulas. 

Marketed for consumption by children ages 12 to 36 months, toddler milk is portrayed as the next step for little ones after they have outgrown infant formulas approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Yet unlike baby formula, the toddler milk products are not regulated by the FDA and are potentially harmful, according to PHAI, a nonprofit legal research center located at Northeastern University School of Law.

Abbott dismissed the allegations as “without merit.”

“Abbott’s representations of its toddler nutrition products are accurate, and our claims are well-supported,” the company said in a statement to CBS MoneyWatch. 

Sales of toddler milk nationwide have averaged more than $500 million a year, according to PHAI’s suit, filed in U.S. district court for the Northern District of Illinois. 

“More than just unnecessary, toddler milk products can actually be harmful to a child’s nutritional health,” said George Fuchs, a medical doctor and professor of pediatric gastroenterology at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine Department of Pediatrics. “The added sugars can increase a toddler’s preference for sweetened foods, contributing to obesity and other health risks throughout their lives,” noted Fuchs, who led the AAP report on toddler milks. 

Labeled similarly to FDA-regulated infant formulas and sold on the same store shelves, Abbott’s “Go & Grow Toddler Drink by Similac” and “Pure Bliss Toddler Drink by Similac” are labeled “Stage 3,” implying they are the next nutritionally recommended product after “Stage 1” infant formula and “Stage 2” transitional formula, the suit alleges. 

“Common toddler milk marketing practices, including unsubstantiated nutrition-related claims and packages that look like infant formulas, mislead parents and other caregivers to believe that toddler milks provide nutritional benefits for their young children,” said Dr. Jennifer Harris, senior research adviser, marketing initiatives at the UConn Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health. 

Experts including the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend that children above 12 months be given water and plain cow’s milk.