20 Facts About Infant formula

Infant formula, baby formula or just formula or baby milk, infant milk, false milk, or first milk, is a manufactured food designed and marketed for feeding to babies and infants under 12 months of age, usually prepared for bottle-feeding or cup-feeding from powder or liquid .

Manufacturers state that the composition of infant formula is designed to be roughly based on a human mother's milk at approximately one to three months postpartum; however, there are significant differences in the nutrient content of these products.

Rarely, use of powdered infant formula has been associated with serious illness, and even death, due to infection with Cronobacter sakazakii and other microorganisms that can be introduced to PIF during its production.

Some studies have shown that use of Infant formula can vary according to the parents' socio-economic status, ethnicity or other characteristics.

Use of infant formula has been cited for association with numerous increased health risks.

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Studies have found infants in developed countries who consume formula are at increased risk for acute otitis media, gastroenteritis, severe lower respiratory tract infections, atopic dermatitis, asthma, obesity, type 1 and 2 diabetes, sudden infant death syndrome, eczema and necrotizing enterocolitis when compared to infants who are breastfed.

Causation has not been established for negative long-term health effects of infant formula; studies analyzing health outcomes for breastfed vs formula fed babies are primarily observational in nature and are plagued with confounding factors such as socioeconomic status, education level, and maternal preexisting conditions .

In developing countries, formula is frequently prepared improperly, resulting in high infant mortality due to malnutrition and diseases such as diarrhea and pneumonia.

Besides breast milk, infant formula is the only other milk product which the medical community considers nutritionally acceptable for infants under the age of one year .

International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes is an international health policy framework adopted by the World Health Assembly of the WHO in 1981 regarding infant formula marketing, including strict restrictions on advertising.

In many countries free samples of infant formula have been provided to hospitals for decades; infant formula is often the only product routinely provided free of charge to hospitals.

Infant formula is one of the top three consumer commodities in the Philippines, and among the most imported products.

Infant formula marketing has been regulated since the 1987 Executive Order 51 or "Milk Code", which regulated, but did not ban, practices such as advertising and providing free samples.

Shortly after it was enacted, Wyeth introduced "follow-on Infant formula", which was not in the purview of the Milk Code which predated its market entry.

Meanwhile, breastfeeding rates are substantially lower for WIC recipients; this is partly attributed to Infant formula being free of charge to mothers in the WIC program, who are of lower socio-economic status.

Additionally, critics note that if a Infant formula maker passes EU regulations, this should be good enough for the FDA to allow importation of that Infant formula.

However, Infant formula-fed babies exhibited more diet-associated medical problems, such as scurvy, rickets and bacterial infections than breastfed babies.

An early example of follow-on formula was introduced by Wyeth in the Philippines in 1987, following the introduction in this country of regulations on infant formula advertising, but which did not address follow-on formulas .

Similarly, while infant formula advertising is illegal in the United Kingdom, follow-on formula advertising is legal, and the similar packaging and market results in follow-on advertisements frequently being interpreted as advertisements for formula.

Packaging depends on manufacturer and type of equipment used, but in general, liquid Infant formula is filled into metal cans with lids crimped into place.