Monthly Archives: September 2025

ISDI is supporting work on a new ISO standard for Malnutrition Prevention, Detection and Treatment, which will serve as a blueprint for the effective treatment of malnutrition in healthcare facilities worldwide.

The new work received overwhelming support from the members of the ISO Technical Committee 34 ‘Food products’ (TC34) and will be the first ever international standard in the area of malnutrition care.

Malnutrition in hospitals is a critical and global clinical issue that affects up to 50% of in-patients around the world¹. Malnourished patients have an increased length of stay, are more frequently readmitted and are at greater risk of complications and mortality. Some countries have taken varied and partial approaches to malnutrition care, but it is often overlooked as a clinical issue.

ISDI Vice-President, Xavier Lavigne, who is also the Convenor of a new Malnutrition Working Group within TC34, said: “Malnutrition care in hospitals is too often inadequate with considerable cost to both patients and healthcare systems. This international standard to address malnutrition across the continuum of patient care offers an opportunity to harmonise practices globally and embed malnutrition treatment as a routine part of healthcare delivery.”

Work on the new standard, which is based on a Standards Council of Canada standard (CAN/HSO 5066:2021), will begin in October 2025. It is expected to be completed within three years, after which the committee members will vote on the adoption of the standard. National mirror committees will be set up in more than 15 countries to support the work.

¹ Prospective validation of the Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition criteria for identifying malnutrition in hospitals: A protocol and feasibility pilot study.

UNICEF’s 2025 Child Nutrition Report, published on 10 September 2025, raises important questions about the prevalence of malnutrition, particularly overweight and obesity, and the importance of food environments that provide nutritious and healthy foods.

Early childhood is a critical time for the growth and development of a child. The importance of adequate and age-appropriate nutrition during this time cannot be overstated. Breastfeeding, formula feeding, mixed feeding, home prepared food, manufactured baby food and nutritional supplementation form the nutritional basis to achieve optimal growth and development during this period. They are also the nutritional tools to avert the burden of malnutrition.

Whilst the report rightly highlights the need to address malnutrition with actions across the food, health, water and sanitation, education and social protection systems, it is wrong to include ‘commercially produced complementary foods’ in its definition of ‘ultra-processed foods and beverages’ and to falsely implicate these foods as a driver of overweight and obesity. The marketing of formula milks and complementary foods is also wrongly characterised as undermining breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices.

• Complementary foods are foods for special dietary uses (FSDU), which are defined by Codex Alimentarius as ‘specially processed or formulated to satisfy particular dietary requirements’. The term ‘ultra-processed’ is not internationally defined, lacks a scientific basis and is not a valid basis for categorising foods.
• Associating this term with the healthiness of foods is misleading and potentially harmful, especially as commercially produced complementary foods can play an important role in addressing nutrient deficiencies that are common when a child transitions to a family diet.
• Manufacturers are an important source of scientific and factual information about their products, which helps parents and caregivers make informed decisions about the most suitable nutritional options for their infants and young children.

ISDI and its members fully support the work of Codex Alimentarius to develop a new standard for foods for older infants and young children. This standard will be an important tool for improving the quality and safety of complementary foods worldwide.

Furthermore, our industry is wholly committed to marketing its products responsibly in full compliance with all applicable laws and regulations, with consideration for the realities of parents’ lives and the need for science-based infant feeding support free from pressure or judgment.

ISDI remains committed to constructive dialogue on improving infant and young child nutrition and addressing malnutrition within all appropriate fora and with all stakeholders. We reserve further comment until we have had the opportunity to fully evaluate the report.