Flicking through July’s edition of Mother & Baby magazine, I was disturbed to find that more than Kathryn Blundell’s funbags were jumping off the page to offend my already overburdened senses. An entire page dedicated to “Organic” infant follow on formula.
We learned from the breast…
…it claimed. And yet, breasts don’t produce hexane-extracted omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids (DHA/ARA [derived from algae and soil fungus]) nor have they been linked to illnesses such as virulent diarrhoea and vomiting in infants. Funny, that.
Or not. Many mothers or mothers to be have found themselves lured in by the “Organic” claims, some even believing this makes it a real and viable alternative to breastmilk. But, just how organic is “Organic” formula?
For any product to be certified organic at least 95% of ingredients, by weight, must be organic. Hmm. In 2008, Cornucopia.com reported that formula companies were being allowed to break the rules and general ethos of organics in pursuit of profits. They also reported adverse effects to some of the oils found in “Organic” formulas:
Martek Biosciences Corporation produces these DHA and ARA supplements. They are extracted from fermented algae and soil fungus with the use of a highly explosive neurotoxic petrochemical solvent, hexane. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration lists hexane as a serious hazard to worker health and safety, and the Environmental Protection Agency classifies it as a hazardous air pollutant. The National Organic Program strictly prohibits its use in the processing of organic foods and ingredients.
Reported to contain the following organic ingredients: Organic nonfat milk, Organic High Oleic Sunflower, Organic Soy and Organic Coconut Oils and Organic Corn Maltodextrin and Organic Sugar (Sucrose), “Organic” Formulas still contain many of the non-organic ingredients found in other infant formulas.
Organic Sugar (Sucrose) is problematic in itself. There are growing concerns over the sweetness of “Organic” formulas and it’s potential to encourage babies to drink more. Dr. William J. Klish, director of the pediatric gastroenterology department at Baylor College of Medicine and a former chairman of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ nutrition committee had this to say:
Babies love sweetness, and anyone selling a sweeter formula is going to have an advantage, because it would be harder to switch a baby to another formula once they get used to the taste.
And while Doctor Gary K. Beauchamp, director of the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia, states that there is no solid proof that early exposure to sweetness leads to an increased taste for sugar in adulthood, he believes the practice of sweetening infant formulas to increase profits goes very much against the Organic ethos:
The entire enterprise of formula is the attempt is to make it as close as possible to human milk. Making sweeter formula so that babies like it more seems to me contrary to the ethos of organic food as a doctor and as a grandfather.
If you’ve read the list of non-organic ingredients, you will know that they make for sobering reading. 95% organic is not truly organic, particularly when the remaining 5% of ingredients are what make infant formula so problematic in the first place. Once again, it would appear, formula companies are taking part in highly unethical practices – from using harmful ingredients in their products to advertisements targeting breastfeeding mothers and now riling the organic community, it seems they will stop at nothing and their exploitation knows no bounds when it comes to making a quick buck.
Elle,
www.thebundlejungle.com
External links and references:
- http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/19/us/19formula.html?_r=3&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1211203144-ZOynf/DcOXBVK8igchd8KA
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic_Infant_Formula
- http://www.cornucopia.org/2008/04/organic-infant-formula-ingredients-processed-with-toxic-chemical/
- http://www.ehow.co.uk/list_6312906_list-ingredients-similac-organic-formula.html
Only one of my kids had organic formula – a follow-on milk when I stopped breastfeeding him at 22 months. Strangely, he is the only one who has developed an intolerance to dairy, which started then & he still has now (aged almost 10 yrs). Might just be hereditary, as I have the intolerance too, but his two older brothers had standard (or sub-standard, lol!) formula & doorstep cow’s milk, when I stopped breastfeeding them and neither of them have the dairy intolerance. (Neither do his younger two siblings, who have both been largely dairy-free anyway).
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