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Dangers of Infant Formula
I could not breast feed Mandy. I adopted her when she was seventeen months old. I have been a rather rabid breastfeeder of my two biological children. This formula warning was very informative to us, because we are currently formula feeding the kittens and the gerbils. We need to be even more stringent to keep those bottles clean!
GENEVA (Reuters) - Powdered infant formula may need to carry clearer instructions on how to prepare it and avoid germs that could cause serious disease and kill high-risk babies, health ministers agreed on Wednesday.
They adopted a resolution on the final day of the World Health Organization's annual assembly of 192 member states amid growing international concern at potential bacterial contamination of powdered milk for feeding babies.Two low-weight babies died last year in hospital in France and one in New Zealand after receiving formula contaminated by bacteria, according to the United Nations health agency.
The resolution said babies should be breastfed exclusively for six months and called for precautions in preparing formula for those deemed to be high-risk, such as preterm, low birthweight or immune-deficient infants.
Infant formula is not sterile and "may contain pathogenic micro-organisms" such as enterobacter sakazakii or salmonella, the resolution said.
WHO and U.N. food experts concluded last year that contamination with these bacteria had been a cause of infection and illness in pre-term and low birth-weight infants and "could lead to serious developmental (damage) and death," it said.
Health care workers and parents, particularly those caring for infants at high risk, must be informed about the "potential for introduced contamination" and the need for safe preparation, handling and storage of infant formula, it said.
"Where applicable," this information should be "conveyed through an explicit warning on packaging," it said.
Jorgen Schlundt, WHO's director of food safety, said there was growing awareness of the risk of bacterial contamination.
"It is important for the information to reach medical personnel caring for low birth weight infants because they are the highest risk group," Schlundt told Reuters.
"You may need to put clearer warnings (on packaging). It is up to countries to decide how they make sure everybody knows," he added.
Unlike infant formula in liquid form, which is subjected to high heat treatment to pasteurise it, powdered milk does not emerge sterilized at the end of processing, potentially leaving micro-organisms in the tin, Schlundt said.
To avoid contamination, the final powder product can be diluted in water and heated to 70 degrees centigrade (158.00F), or near boiling, killing the micro-organisms.
But this is not always possible and boiling it for too long can also destroy nutrients, Schlundt said.
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Yeah...in this case its the WATER they are mixing into the powder and not the formula itself. I didn't trust any water source enough to use powder when I was feeding Tyler. I went for the pricey "ready-to-drink" variety. I was so worried about keeping things sterile when he was a newborn, I bought - in bulk - the sterile disposable nipples that the hospital had used and the little single serving sized glass bottles of formula that they screwed onto. It was soooo expensive, but very convenient. The formula was room temp and ready to drink, so no heating was needed. And Ty drank the whole bottle at a feeding, so no leftovers. I was determined to give him the best possible alternative, since I couldn't breast feed him. :-)
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wow seems its always somethings. It s like what can we trust. This of all things shold be safe to protect our little ones.
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This was a wonderful article. I hope it gets out there to many Moms who use powder formula. I was unable to breast feed our first born and liquid formula tore his stomach up. So I made him home made formula that my Mom made us girls. He was a very health and happy baby Ü. Our daughter, I was able to breast feed for three wonderful months and then she went onto home made formula. Both of my children were always happy and satisfied with their feedings. I also did not buy baby food in baby jars. So we used our blender and pureed (sp?) all our dinners and fed them that naturally. To much junk in baby jars , including warnings of glass and other items always being found in them.
Thanks again for sharing a great article. I am printing it up just in case I find some one who is using or thinking of using powder formula.
Hugs,
Donna -
Wow that is an interesting read! I hope one day when I have my own biological child that I can breastfeed.. two of my friends both tried to breastfeed and didnt produce enough milk.. is that a common thing I wonder? :) Melaney..
5/28/05 3:00 PM
LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOo