"The controversial proposal debated by the 42nd Directing Council of PAHO now advances to the World Health Organization (WHO) executive board, which meets next January. If adopted by WHO, the recommendation could have repercussions for international trade, according to PAHO.

"The reason the issue has become so polarized is commercial," Dr. Chessa Lutter, director of food and nutrition for the organization, told Reuters Health.

"The recommendation influences, or has the potential to influence, infant feeding policy and programs, maternity legislation, and the monitoring of the Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes, and Codex Alimentarius, which governs the content and labelling of cereal-based infant foods and is especially significant with respect to international trade," a PAHO background paper states."

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