Keep your family safe from germs and bacteria
Finding the formula for formula
In the UK, the infant formula and follow-on market is worth £165 million a year, but at what price our children's long-term health? Emma Hall investigates
Current UK legislation specifies minimum and maximum levels for the energy, protein, fat, carbohydrate, vitamin and mineral content of formulas. It also specifies which nutritional substances and food additives are approved for small babies.
‘The biggest mass uncontrolled trial ever’
However, some organisations are still very concerned about the use of formula. Baby Milk Action calls infant formula ‘the biggest mass uncontrolled trial ever’ and claims that formula milk is responsible for life-long problems from constipation to high blood pressure. They point out that formula-fed babies forfeit living enzymes and hormones, immune boosters and a custom-made, ever-changing, perfect food.
The safer and closer to breast milk that manufacturers can claim formula milk is, the better it will sell. Nobody wants the kind of bad publicity faced by manufacturer SMA Nutrition last summer, when a case of infant botulism was linked to one of its products.
The organic alternative
Scares like these have sent many mothers (who can afford it) flocking to new ranges of organic baby formulas, such as Hipp or Babynat, which have come on the market recently.
Despite the reassurance of the ‘organic’ tag, these products are no closer to breast milk than ordinary formula. The Department of Health refuses to recommend one formula over another, and takes the official stance that all formulas have a similar composition.
Impressing the medics
Manufacturers, however, are constantly striving to impress the medical profession that their formula is the closest to breast milk, in the hope that their brand will be the one recommended to mothers.
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