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M. FAIRCHILD-DZANIS, Nutrition Division, Nestle USA, 800 N. Brand Blvd, Glendale, CA 91203 Breastmilk is nature's most perfect food for infants. But, for babies who are not breastfed, the substitutes they rely on should be the best they can be. There are two major goals for the Marketer of an infant formula: (1) to make infant formula as close to breastmilk as possible, and (2) to make it as good or better than other available formulas. LCPUFAs help meet both. Breastmilk varies in composition from one mother to another and from day-to-day. There are some things in breastmilk that may not be needed while there are other things that might be very important to achieving the advantages that accrue to breastfed infants. LCPUFAs appear to be among the latter. The jury is still out on certain aspects of their efficacy. But, three things are clear about DHA and ARA: (1) they are associated with brain and eye development; (2) they are nutrients; and (3) they are components of breastmilk. Marketing for formulas including these nutrients is firmly based on these three facts. But, all of this must be provided within the context of assured safety. Even if advantages in brain and eye development were consistently demonstrated, no improvement in a formula would justify putting babies at risk. This happens to be the law – that is, foods, unlike drugs, do not undergo a risk/benefit analysis – they simply must be safe. That's why it's essential that all testing to ensure the safety of a new ingredient must be done in advance of any product launch. Future ingredients may come out of a better understanding of the composition of breastmilk, and they may also go beyond simulating composition to focus on achieving some of the benefits of breastmilk. Regardless of the source or nature of the new ingredient being proposed, manufacturers must always ensure safety first.
Session 44, Evaluating the safety of bioactive components for infant formula
2005 IFT Annual Meeting, July 15-20 - New Orleans, Louisiana |