Breastfeeding Unfriendly FDA Sets Guide for Melamine in US Formula
News flash today from AP released by ABC News: the FDA says the amounts of Melamine thus far found in U.S. formula are within safety limits. On Friday, the FDA approved 1 part per million as an acceptable level.
Infant formula in the States has been scrutinized in the wake of the Melanine contamination of Chinese formula. The big three manufacturers who produce about 90% of the formula for the United States have all found contaminated samples.
Nestle’s Good Start Supreme Infant Formula with Iron had two positive tests for melamine on one sample; Mead Johnson’s Infant Formula Powder, Enfamil LIPIL with Iron had three positive tests on one sample for cyanuric acid.
Separately, a third major formula maker, Abbott Laboratories, told the AP that in-house tests had detected trace levels of melamine in its infant formula.
Apparently, there are legal uses of Melamine by the food industry. It can be used in some food packaging and cleaning solutions used on food processing equipment where it may find its way into food or formula.
Justin Pritchard reported that the amount expected to be present as a result of processing is approximately 15 parts per billion. This was 1/10′th of what they actually found in the infant formula.
He interviewed Dr.Stephen Sundlof, FDA’s director of food safety, who spoke of the guidelines and elaborated further..
“The levels were so low … that they do not cause a health risk to infants,” Sundlof said. “Parents using infant formula should continue using U.S.-manufactured infant formula. Switching away from one of these infant formulas to alternate diets or homemade formulas could result in infants not receiving the complete nutrition required for proper growth and development.”
Alternate diets? Did he mean breastfeeding? Can’t tell because it was not mentioned at all, either in terms of an alternative choice or to reduce risk until there are more studies.
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I know that formula is not going away anytime soon. To protect those babies who are not being breastfed, we must demand that it be manufactured and handled with rigorous attention to its safety profile.
According Mr. Prichard’s report, the contamination in the formula samples did not appear to be intentional. That it would happen by accident is bad enough, but given that there are unscrupulous characters in our midst, that is not beyond the realm of possibility.
There is something really wrong with science that exists to protect commercial interests over the health and well-being of the individual citizens. Why would the FDA set the level higher than the amounts already found in U.S. formula? Why not attempt to eliminate the source of contamination and set up a standard of zero tolerance for Melamine?
The FDA seems to be dropping the ball here with the implication that formula is the only option for infant feeding. This would be a perfect opportunity to encourage the renaissance of breastfeeding in this country and around the world.
Let’s take a page from the activists who have gotten BPA out of infant bottles by raising consumer awareness and making it a bottom line issue.
We need to call for the elimination of the use of Melamine near anything that could leach into the food supply of both humans and animals.
Breastfeeding or not…We need to rally around this issue. Your thoughts?
7 comments
Thank you for the story. I dont get the FDA, one day they say no level is acceptable (Oct 3 2008) and then they say 1 ppm is allowable. The FDA still doesn’t know what the long term affects will be, but we do know that over 50,000 babies in China were affected in the last few months from baby formula, and a few of these beatiful souls even died from Melamine.
I agree that this is a huge missed opportunity to promote breastfeeding.
FWIW, here is Health Canada’s document that came to the same conclusion: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/securit/chem-chim/melamine-eng.php
Holy cow… I’m so angry about this!
Unfortunately we were unable to breastfeed our baby (believe me, we tried but our baby had an infection and almost died, he had to be formula fed and subsequently rejected breastfeeding). Thank god he’s turning 1 next week which means we can do whole milk but we still have some Enfamil Lipil, which he’s been drinking since birth.
My question is – for those mothers who are unable to breastfeed, what alternatives do they have?
Thanks Jerell for your comment and reminding us what should be obvious to the FDA…
If over 50,000 Chinese babies were adversely affected by Melamine, how can we not deduce that there are issues with safety?
I hope that breastfeeding and the use of expressed milk for those who need it will be promoted in the wake of this disturbing news!
Thanks PhdinParenting for joining me in thinking that this is a golden opportunity for all of us in North America to promote and support breastfeeding.
Apparently, the Canadians and Americans Health Authorities are aligning themselves on this issue.
We must press them to promote breastfeeding over the bottom line of drug companies!
Thanks Jane for your comment.
I am so glad your little boy is turning 1 next week and will be off the formula.
You bring up a very important question for any parents that were not able to breastfeed.
I am thinking that there should be more promotion and support of breastfeeding in real measurable terms so that medical challenges will not prevent breastfeeding success.
To this end we are sending a petition to President-elect Obama. Please sign it and put in your concerns. http://budurl.com/Petition4BF
In addition, human milk banking should become more widespread and available as an alternative to formula which is too quickly offered as a safe feeding option by the members of the health care system. With government and public support the cost of obtaining safe expressed human milk could become more affordable.
One would hope that in the meantime,consumers will maintain their scrutiny on this topic forcing the formula companies to self-regulate to a zero tolerance level with or without government regulation.
Hopefully, in the very near future, we will not need to worry about Melamine being in the food supply for babies, humans and our pets!
Not that I’m totally impressed, but this is more than I expected when I found a link on Delicious telling that the info is awesome. Thanks.
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