Quality Of Infant Formula Research Articles

Variations in the Sensory Attributes of Infant Formula among Batches and Their Impact on Maternal Consumer Preferences: A Study Combining Consumer Preferences, Pivot Profile, and Quantitative Descriptive Analysis.

The sensory quality of infant formula (IF) has a significant impact on the preferences and purchasing behavior of maternal consumers. Consumer-based rapid descriptive methods have become popular and are widely preferred over classical methods, but the application of Pivot Profile (PP) in IF is still little explored. In this study, both Pivot Profile (PP) and Quantitative Descriptive Analysis (QDA) were applied to characterize the sensory profile of 12 batches of one-stage and three-stage IF with different storage periods, respectively, along with consumer preference data to determine the flavors contributing to liking. The results of PP and QDA aligned moderately well, with the most perceptible differences identified as "fishy", "milky", and "T-sweet" attributes. IFs with shorter storage times were highly associated with "milky" aromas and "T-sweet" tastes, whereas IFs with longer storage times exhibited a strong correlation with "fishy" and "oxidation" aromas. External preference analysis highlighted that the occurrence of "fishy" and "oxidation" aromas during prolonged storage periods significantly reduced the consumer preference for IFs. Conversely, the perception of "milky" and "creamy" aromas and "T-sweet" tastes may be critical positive factors influencing consumer preference. This study provided valuable insights and guidance for enhancing the sensory quality and consumer preference of IF.

Nutritional composition evaluation with emphasis on the lipid quality of infant formulas

Infant formulas play a crucial role in the nutrition of non-breastfed infants, providing essential nutrients for their healthy development. This study aimed to investigate the nutritional composition and lipid profile of commercial infant formulas intended for infants up to six months of age, assessing whether their composition aligns with dietary recommendations for this age group. To achieve this, we determined the macronutrient composition and lipid profile through proximate analysis, gas chromatography, and mass spectrometry, to confirm whether these formulas meet the established requirements. Although there were distinctions in quality and composition offered, through the proximate composition it was revealed that 66.66 % of the formulas met the recommendations for protein and lipid content. Additionally, the lipid composition of these formulas comprises a variety of fatty acids, primarily composed of triacylglycerols, supplemented through vegetable oils, fish oil, and coconut oil, in an effort to resemble the lipid quality of human milk. Gas chromatography demonstrated a predominance of monounsaturated fatty acids in the formulas evaluated, suggesting that the lipid composition of predominant breast milk was successfully reproduced. To ensure adequate nutritional balance for newborns, nutritional guidelines establish standards for infant feeding through specific recommendations. These results are of utmost importance for the infant food industry, providing insights for the continuous improvement of the nutritional quality of infant formulas, aiming to ensure the healthy and proper development of children from the early months of life, contributing to their long-term well-being.

An automated platform for measuring infant formula powder rehydration quality using a collaborative robot integrated with computer vision

Current methods used for testing the rehydration quality of infant formula (IF) are mainly subjective. For a better understanding of rehydration, objective measurements are required. A computer vision (CV) system was synchronized with a collaborative robot (cobot) to automatically estimate foam height, sediment height, and the number of white particles after IF powder rehydration. Two different robotic agitations were used to prepare the mixtures in a commercially available baby bottle. To evaluate the platform, twenty-four stage-1 IF powders were rehydrated. Cobot-captured images were processed by CV algorithms and independently rated by eight participants. The participants' and platform's estimates of foam height, sediment height, and white particles score, respectively, showed agreements of 2.1 mm, 3.4 mm, and 1.7 scores, and correlation coefficients of 0.82, 0.77, and 0.68. The results show that the platform has the potential to enable objective rehydration tests and to monitor changes in visible foam and sediment over time.

Green infant formula analysis: Optimizing headspace solid-phase microextraction of carbonyl compounds associated with lipid peroxidation using GC-MS and pentafluorophenylhydrazine derivatization

The refinement and optimization of a method combining headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was successfully performed for the first time to determine seven carbonyl and dicarbonyl compounds, including glyoxal, methylglyoxal, dimethylglyoxal, and malondialdehyde in infant formulae, related to lipid peroxidation. HS-SPME was utilized for simultaneous extraction and derivatization with pentafluorophenylhydrazine (PFPH). Critical parameters such as temperature, pH, extractive phase, and salting-out were meticulously investigated and fine-tuned by an asymmetrical 2232//9 screening design to ensure the method's efficacy and reliability. Optimal conditions included a PFPH concentration of 5 g/L, pH 5.0, head-space extraction at 60 °C within 10 min, utilizing a DVB/CAR/PDMS coating, and a 20% w/w salting-out. The analytical validation of this method, compliant with FDA guidelines, demonstrated exceptional linearity, sensitivity, specificity, precision (RSD ≤13.8%), and accuracy (84.8% ≤ recovery ≤111.5%). The metric approach AGREEprep confirms its eco-friendliness, marking a significant step towards an environmentally conscious approach in infant formula analysis. An occurrence study conducted on 25 infant formula samples revealed widespread carbonyl and dicarbonyl compounds in both powdered and liquid variants. ANOVA results exhibited variations in compound concentrations among different sample groups. Clustering analyses delineated distinct groups based on carbonyl content, indicating the potential of these compounds as markers for lipid peroxidation and food quality assessment. This method serves as a valuable tool for evaluating infant formula quality, stability towards oxidation, and safety.

Formation by high power ultrasound of mimicking human fat emulsions stabilized with milk fat globule membrane

Ultrasound (US) is an innovative food processing technique that has gained significant interest for its role in modifying proteins. Our study focused on how different US time exposure influence the stability, interfacial structure, and rheological characteristics of whey protein infused with milk fat globule membrane (MFGM). Results indicated that a 9-min ultrasound treatment (US-9) of protein, yielding an emulsion with particle size of 338.3 nm and ζ-potential of −48 mV, was optimal for enhancing functional properties of the emulsion. The US-9 emulsion exhibited different surface rheological properties compared to other emulsions, revealing a heterogeneous MFGM stabilization interface predominantly made of MFGM fragments, free phospholipids, and proteins. The US-9 emulsion surface covered more phospholipids, indicating improved emulsion persistence, based on interfacial protein and phospholipid content calculations and microstructure observation. While the US-9 emulsion did not affect fat digestion, the US-6 min treatment resulted in an optimal fatty acid release rate. Further experimentation may be necessary to elucidate the intricate relationship between ultrasound duration and fat digestion. These findings have leaded to a better understanding of the emulsification capabilities of MFGM materials, as well as a foundation to improve infant formula quality.

Dynamic evolution of volatile organic compounds in infant formula during storage: Insights from gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry

The flavor profile of infant formula (IF) determines its overall acceptability and palatability, significantly impacting its desirability for infants, while the presence of off-flavors challenges the feeding experience and IF quality, even may lead to the rejection by infants. In this study, the dynamic changes in volatile organic compounds (VOCs) during 12 weeks of IF storage at 4 °C–60 °C were monitored by Gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (GC-IMS) for capturing the fingerprints of VOCs. The GC-IMS revealed that a total of 44 VOCs, including acids, alcohols, aldehydes, esters, ketones, and furans. The alternative principal component analysis (PCA) and Sankey diagram in this study offered a comprehensive tracing of the dynamic changes in VOCs, providing valuable implications for the optimization of IF quality control, assessment for validity period and origin tracking in the food industrial.

Fatty acid concentration and distribution in human milk: Comparison with infant formulas and animal milk

AbstractThe lipid profile including total fatty acid (FA), sn‐2 positional distribution on triacylglycerol, and phospholipid (PL) FA in human milk, infant formulas, and animal milk (cow, goat, camel, donkey, and yak milk) were analyzed. Animal milk contained higher saturated fatty acids (45.08%–66.29%) than human milk (37.44%) and infant formula (33.46%). In the perspective of FA, human milk and the commercial formulas showed a better similarity. Human milk contained significantly (p < 0.05) higher 16:0 at the sn‐2 position (50.88%) than infant formulas (23.09%) and animal milk (28.95%–46.72%). As to PL‐FA, human milk contained significantly (p < 0.05) higher 16:0 and 18:0 but lower 18:1 n‐9 than other milk. The relative contents of arachidonic acid (AA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and nervonic acid (NA) in human milk were higher in PL‐FA than that in total FA. Noteworthy, the contents of AA, DHA, and NA in both total FA and PL‐FA were higher in human milk than other milk. These results indicated that the fortification of 16:0 at the sn‐2 position, and AA, DHA, and NA in both total FA and PL‐FA could improve the quality of infant formulas.

Protein ingredient quality of infant formulas impacts their structure and kinetics of proteolysis under in vitro dynamic digestion

Infant formula (IF) is a complex matrix requiring numerous ingredients and processing steps. The objective was to understand how the quality of protein ingredients impacts IF structure and, in turn, their kinetics of digestion. Four powdered IFs (A/B/C/D), based on commercial whey protein (WP) ingredients, with different protein denaturation levels and composition (A/B/C), and on caseins with different supramolecular organisations (C/D), were produced at a semi-industrial level after homogenization and spray-drying. Once reconstituted in water (13 %, wt/wt), the IF microstructure was analysed with asymmetrical flow field-flow fractionation coupled with multi-angle light scattering and differential refractometer, transmission electron microscopy and electrophoresis. The rehydrated IFs were subjected to simulated infant in vitro dynamic digestion (DIDGI®). Digesta were regularly sampled to follow structural changes (confocal microscopy, laser-light scattering) and proteolysis (OPA, SDS-PAGE, LC-MS/MS, cation-exchange chromatography). Before digestion, different microstructures were observed among IFs. IF-A, characterized by more denatured WPs, presented star-shaped mixed aggregates, with protein aggregates bounded to casein micelles, themselves adsorbed at the fat droplet interface. Non-micellar caseins, brought by non-micellar casein powder (IF-D) underwent rearrangement and aggregation at the interface of flocculated fat droplets, leading to a largely different microstructure of IF emulsion, with large aggregates of lipids and proteins. During digestion, IF-A more digested (degree of proteolysis + 16 %) at 180 min of intestinal phase than IF-C/D. The modification of the supramolecular organisation of caseins implied different kinetics of peptide release derived from caseins during the gastric phase (more abundant at G80 for IF-D). Bioactive peptide release kinetics were also different during digestion with IF-C presenting a maximal abundance for a large proportion of them. Overall, the present study highlights the importance of the structure and composition of the protein ingredients (WPs and caseins) selected for IF formulation on the final IF structure and, in turn, on proteolysis. Whether it has some physiological consequences remains to be investigated.

Control of the Maillard reaction and secondary shelf-life prediction of infant formula during domestic use.

To control the Maillard reaction of infant formula (IF) during secondary shelf-life (SSL) and establish an SSL prediction model, the effects of storage temperatures (25°C, 37°C) and relative humidity (RH) levels (32%, 57%, and 75%) on the Maillard reaction products (MRPs) were evaluated. Visible color changes were observed during storage in samples stored at 37°C and not at 25°C. The available lysine loss was the largest, up to 64.14% and 69.40% after 4 weeks of storage at 37°C and 57% RH. At the end of storage, the 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, 3-deoxyglucuronide, fluorescence of advanced Maillard products and soluble Tryptophan (FAST) index, and Nε -carboxymethyllysine (CML) of two commercial IFs increased by 0.48-3.32, 1.26-12.65, 0.01-4.87, and 0.30-1.05 times, respectively. During storage, the glyoxal content in two commercial IFs tended to increase and then decrease in the range of 0.21-3.43mg/100g. The SSL of IFs was predicted using the multivariate accelerated shelf-life test and the Arrhenius model. At 25°C, the estimated SLL of two commercial IFs were 10-9 and 7-6weeks at 57% and 75% RH, respectively. MRPs and ΔE* could be used as indicators for predicting the SLL of infant formula. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: The results of the study suggested that the increase in storage temperature and humidity during the SSL can promote the MR of IF, which affects the sensory and safety of IF. Therefore, consumers need to focus on controlling storage conditions during the SSL to avoid degradation of IF quality.

Antioxidant Capacity and Quality of Human Milk and Infant Formula Determined by Direct Current Polarography

Antioxidants present in infant food contribute to its nutritive value and provide protection from oxidative damage. Here, a direct current polarographic method, based on a decrease of anodic current from the hydroxoperhydroxo-mercury(II) complex (HPMC) formed at a mercury dropping electrode at its potential of dissolution, was used to determine the total antioxidant capacity (TAC) of infant formulas, human milk collected from mothers of full-term and preterm infants, human milk supplemented with fortifier, and cow milk. TAC of milk samples and infant formula correlated with protein content measured by the Bradford method (Pearson correlation coefficient 0.605, p<0.001), while TAC of human milk correlated with content of free thiol groups measured by the Ellman method (0.779, p<0.001). The results obtained showed that, in contrast to the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay, HPMC enables specific insight into the quality of infant milk food which reflects the amounts of free thiol groups and protein content. The significant contribution of milk proteins and the most prevalent amino acids, particularly cysteine, arginine, and phenylalanine, to TAC was shown. Thus, the HPMC method might be useful in monitoring the quality of infant formulas and human milk for preterm infants before and after supplementation with fortifier.

Occurrence, sources, and pathways of chemical contaminants in infant formulas.

Infant formulas are manufactured products to meet specific nutritional requirements for infants. However, infant formulas can contain harmful substances, such as chemical contaminants and residues, normally due to possible contamination of the raw material or from the production chain. Some studies have demonstrated that veterinary drugs, pesticides, mycotoxins, heavy metals, packaging materials, within other chemicals are found in infant formulas from different sources of contamination. It is known that some of these substances can be hepatotoxic, carcinogenic, teratogenic, mutagenic, immunotoxic, contributing to antibiotic resistance, among other detrimental consequences for consumers' health. The purpose of this review is to assess the scientific evidence concerning the occurrence, sources, and pathways of contamination, as well as the detrimental impacts on infant health due to the possible presence of chemical contaminants and residues in infant formulas. Moreover, strategies to reduce the risk of contamination of infant formulas are presented to ensure the highest standards of quality of infant formulas. The entire infant formula manufacturing process should be monitored and controlled to minimize the risk of contamination during processing, storage, and distribution, besides ensuring the use of raw materials with as low as acceptable levels of harmful substances in order to assure that the final product shall comply with the maximum levels and maximum residue limits, when established, for residues and contaminants in the final product.

A New Comprehensive Index for Evaluating the Quality of Infant Formula under the Framework of Chinese Food Standards

Objective: We proposed a new comprehensive index, the food quality index (FQI), to effectively evaluate food quality. Methods: The food quality index is based on chemical and biological indicators of the Chinese food standards framework. We evaluated the limit value regulations for infant formula standards and then established a comprehensive index and grading standard. Finally, we applied the index to evaluate data obtained from the Shenyang Product Quality Supervision and Inspection Institute. Results: The results showed that the quality of older infant and young children formula (OF) was good, and the infant formula (IF) was acceptable. Conclusion: The quality of OF was observably higher than that of IF, and they were significantly different with a p-value &lt; 0.01. The most influencing factor of the IF and OF was minerals, followed by major components, optional ingredients, vitamins, and pathogenic bacteria had no effect. In IF, The number of the main influencing single indicators were 36 and 20 in IF and OF, respectively. Statistical analysis showed that index values of vitamins in the two kinds of milk powders were significantly different, with a p-value &lt; 0.01. Optional ingredients were significantly correlated, with a p-value &lt; 0.05.

Improvement in the Reliability of AOAC Official Method 2012.15 for Iodine.

Background: Reliable measurements of iodine are essential for ensuring the quality of infant formula. The AOAC Official Method 2012.15 for iodine tends to produce higher results in the presence of carbon remaining in the final test solution after digestion with alkaline dissolution. This is partly because of the lack of countermeasures for signal enhancement induced by coexisting carbon in Method 2012.15. Objective: To obtain more reliable values for infant formulas, we undertook an experiment. Methods: We modified the protocol by adding carbon in the form of methanol to both the standard solutions and the final test solutions. Comparisons of the enhancement factor for iodine-127 were used to find the optimized concentration of methanol from 0-10%. Results: Optimization of the additional carbon showed that a 5% methanol minimum was necessary for a constant ratio of iodine. The results exhibited good linearity (coefficient of determination >0.999), and the LOQ was 0.19 μg/100 g for the reconstituted final product with a methanol concentration of 5%. The intermediate precision RSD was <3.76%, and the recovery factor was 97.5-104.2% for infant formula distributed in several countries and a special formula distributed in Japan. Conclusions: This demonstrates that 5% methanol, when added to standard and final solutions, acts as an effective matrix matching agent. Highlights: This modified method produces more accurate iodine quantification in infant formulas and special formulas in which there is incomplete digestion of the matrix.

A combination of lipidomics, MS imaging, and PET scan imaging reveals differences in cerebral activity in rat pups according to the lipid quality of infant formulas.

We evaluated the effect of adding docosahexaenoic:arachidonic acids (3:2) (DHA+ARA) to 2 representative commercial infant formulas on brain activity and brain and eye lipids in an artificially reared rat pup model. The formula lipid background was either a pure plant oil blend, or dairy fat with a plant oil blend (1:1). Results at weaning were compared to breast milk-fed pups. Brain functional activity was determined by positron emission tomography scan imaging, the brain and eye fatty acid and lipid composition by targeted and untargeted lipidomics, and DHA brain regional location by mass-spectrometry imaging. The brain functional activity was normalized to controls with DHA+ARA added to the formulas. DHA in both brain and eyes was influenced by formula intake, but more than two-thirds of tissue DHA-glycerolipids remained insensitive to the dietary challenge. However, the DHA lipidome correlated better with brain function than sole DHA content ( r = 0.70 vs. r = 0.48; P < 0.05). Brain DHA regional distribution was more affected by the formula lipid background than the provision of PUFAs. Adding DHA+ARA to formulas alters the DHA content and lipidome of nervous tissue in the neonate, making it closer to dam milk-fed controls, and normalizes brain functional activity.-Aidoud, N., Delplanque, B., Baudry, C., Garcia, C., Moyon, A., Balasse, L., Guillet, B., Antona, C., Darmaun, D., Fraser, K., Ndiaye, S., Leruyet, P., Martin, J.-C. A combination of lipidomics, MS imaging, and PET scan imaging reveals differences in cerebral activity in rat pups according to the lipid quality of infant formulas.

Assessment of infant formula quality and composition using Vis-NIR, MIR and Raman process analytical technologies

In this study, visible and near-infrared (Vis-NIR), mid-infrared (MIR) and Raman process analytical technologies were investigated for assessment of infant formula quality and compositional parameters namely preheat temperature, storage temperature, storage time, fluorescence of advanced Maillard products and soluble tryptophan (FAST) index, soluble protein, fat and surface free fat (SFF) content. PLS-DA models developed using spectral data with appropriate data pre-treatment and significant variables selected using Martens’ uncertainty test had good accuracy for the discrimination of preheat temperature (92.3–100%) and storage temperature (91.7–100%). The best PLS regression models developed yielded values for the ratio of prediction error to deviation (RPD) of 3.6–6.1, 2.1–2.7, 1.7–2.9, 1.6–2.6 and 2.5–3.0 for storage time, FAST index, soluble protein, fat and SFF content prediction respectively. Vis-NIR, MIR and Raman were demonstrated to be potential PAT tools for process control and quality assurance applications in infant formula and dairy ingredient manufacture.

Characteristic of microencapsulated 1,3-dioleoyl-2-palmitoylglycerol and its application in infant formula powder

ABSTRACT1,3-Dioleoyl-2-palmitoylglycerol (OPO) is used widely as a food additive. However, the structured lipid is sensitive to oxygen and light in the production process. This results in the loss of its original nutrition and production of harmful substances. In this study, the OPO was microencapsulated using whey protein isolate and maltodextrin as the wall material and monostearin as an emulsifier by spray-drying technology added to the infant formula milk, in order to improve its oxidative stability. The OPO microcapsules were released in vitro through the simulated gastrointestinal tract; sensory evaluation of microencapsulated OPO in infant formula powder and nutrition absorption of microencapsulated OPO in infant formula power by animal experiments were investigated. The results showed that OPO microcapsules have a slow-release effect; after 2 h of simulated gastric fluid digestion, only 16.1 ± 3.2% of the oil was released from microencapsulated OPO, and after another 2 h of simulated intestinal fluid digestion, there was 92.3 ± 2.8% of oil released from the microencapsulated OPO. The infant formula with microencapsulated OPO has a uniform colour and no odour. The quality of infant formula with microencapsulated OPO was obviously better than infant formula with OPO by storage test. Everted mice gut sac experiments confirmed that microencapsulation did not affect absorption of mice to OPO in infant formula and prevented the loss of calcium. The study confirmed that addition of microencapsulated OPO makes infant formula more efficient for product quality and nutrition absorption.

Establishment and Application of Infant Formula Fingerprints by RP-HPLC

An efficient method for rapid and simple identification of infant formula quality was investigated so as to prevent brand counterfeit of infant formulas. Reversed-phase, high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) method combined with chemometric method was developed for fingerprints analysis. To optimize the RP-HPLC conditions, the RP-HPLC analysis was performed on a C8 column by using gradient elution with 0.1% (v/v) aqueous trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) in water as mobile phase A and 0.1% (v/v) TFA in acetonitrile as mobile phase B, the flow rate was 0.5 mL min−1, and the detection wavelength was set at 214 nm. Three different stages of infant formulas of two series (R1 and R2) of R brand were analyzed to establish infant formula fingerprints of each series at different stages under optimal conditions. Five major common peaks in each chromatogram of the infant formulas were used in fingerprint analysis. The results showed that the RP-HPLC fingerprints and principal component analysis (PCA) method can effectively differentiate the infant formula of different brands, as well as the different series of infant formulas of the same brand, which provide an effective testing method for authenticity identification and brand protection in infant formulas.

Impact of the spray drying conditions and residence time distribution on lysine loss in spray dried infant formula

The essential amino acid lysine plays an important role for the nutritional quality of infant formula. Unfortunately, it is easily damaged during spray drying which is usually used to produce infant formula powders. In this study, we showed that the extent of lysine loss can be controlled by adjusting the air inlet temperature and the air-to-liquid ratio. Depending on the spray drying conditions, 10.4 ± 2.9% lysine loss down to no lysine loss was determined after spray drying in laboratory scale and in pilot scale. A main impact on lysine loss could be attributed to the particle residence time which was shown to be longer for the short-form, pilot-scale spray dryer than for the tall-form, laboratory-scale spray dryer. Median particle residence time was 6 s in the laboratory scale dryer and 17 s in the pilot scale dryer. The air-to-liquid ratio of the spray dryer proved to be a good parameter to compare different types of spray dryers. The extent of lysine loss during storage of the spray dried powders was independent of the extent of lysine loss during spray drying. Lysine loss during storage can be reduced by low storage temperatures and low water contents of the powder. Coupling kinetics of lysine loss that take into account the physical state of lactose, i.e., glassy, rubbery, or crystalline, with the processing conditions and particle residence time during spray drying was shown to be a promising tool to improve the nutritional quality of spray dried infant formula.

The Nutritional Adequacy of Infant Formula

Government agencies that regulate infant formula have been concerned about its safety, worrying about things like contamination with bacteria and insect parts. Questionable formula has been subject to government-ordered recalls. This attention reinforces people’s confidence that national governments are ensuring the quality of infant formula. However, national regulatory agencies generally just assume that various versions of infant formula and other foods are safe for children (Kent, 2011). While many others have commented on safety issues relating to infant formula, few have paid attention to another important point. Safety is about ensuring that the product does not cause direct harm—but that is not enough. There are things infant formula is supposed to do. The quality of infant formula depends not only on its safety, but also on its nutritional adequacy.

A validated simple and rapid method for the simultaneous detection of both Cronobacter spp. and Salmonella spp. for infant formula quality control

The presence of Cronobacter or Salmonella in powdered infant formulae represents a serious health risk when fed to newborn infants. The detection of these pathogens by standard food analysis methods takes around 3–6 days to provide an accurate result. In order to reduce the time of analysis to less than 24 h, a real-time PCR-based method for the simultaneous detection of both Cronobacter spp. and Salmonella spp. in powdered infant formula was designed combining two existing primer-probe sets, and included an internal amplification control to validate the negative results. Inclusivity and exclusivity of the PCR were tested with 70 strains of Cronobacter, 13 strains of Salmonella enterica, and 75 non-Cronobacter non-Salmonella strains. The method was validated against the reference standard methods ISO/TS 22964: 2006 for Cronobacter and ISO 6579: 2002 for Salmonella using powdered infant formula samples, but also with other powdered products which could represent a health risk for infants younger than 6 months, such as follow-up formulae and hydrolyzed cereals. The detection limit of the new method was set at 1 cfu in 10 g of food for Cronobacter and 1 cfu in 25 g of food for Salmonella after 18 h enrichment in buffered peptone water, fulfilling the requirements of the European Commission.