Abstract
BackgroundInfant formulas are sophisticated milk-based feeds for infants which are used as a substitute for breast milk. Historically they are known to be contaminated by aluminium and in the past this has raised health concerns for exposed infants. We have measured the aluminium content of a number of widely used infant formulas to determine if their contamination by aluminium and consequent issues of child health persists.MethodsSamples of ready-made milks and powders used to make milks were prepared by microwave digestion of acid/peroxide mixtures and their aluminium content determined by THGA.ResultsThe concentration of aluminium in ready-made milks varied from ca 176 to 700 μg/L. The latter concentration was for a milk for preterm infants. The aluminium content of powders used to make milks varied from ca 2.4 to 4.3 μg/g. The latter content was for a soya-based formula and equated to a ready-to-drink milk concentration of 629 μg/L. Using the manufacturer's own guidelines of formula consumption the average daily ingestion of aluminium from infant formulas for a child of 6 months varied from ca 200 to 600 μg of aluminium. Generally ingestion was higher from powdered as compared to ready-made formulas.ConclusionsThe aluminium content of a range of well known brands of infant formulas remains high and particularly so for a product designed for preterm infants and a soya-based product designed for infants with cow's milk intolerances and allergies. Recent research demonstrating the vulnerability of infants to early exposure to aluminium serves to highlight an urgent need to reduce the aluminium content of infant formulas to as low a level as is practically possible.
Highlights
Infant formulas are sophisticated milk-based feeds for infants which are used as a substitute for breast milk
There have been similar warnings over several decades in relation to aluminium toxicity and parenteral nutrition of preterm and term infants [14,15,16,17]. To these ends the expectation would be that the aluminium content of current infant formulas would at the very least be historically low and at best would be as low as might be achieved for a processed product. We have tested this premise and we have found that the aluminium content of a range of branded infant formulas remains too high
The aluminium content of ready-made milk formulas The mean aluminium content of ready-made milk formulas ranged from ca 176 μg/L (Hipp Organic Growing-Up Milk) to ca 700 μg/L (Cow & Gate Nutriprem 1) (Table 1)
Summary
Infant formulas are sophisticated milk-based feeds for infants which are used as a substitute for breast milk. There has been a long and significant history documenting the contamination of infant formulas by aluminium [3,4,5,6,7,8,9] and consequent health effects in children [10,11,12,13]. Through these and other publications manufacturers of infant formulas have been made fully aware of
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