Beetles, Larvae, Glass, Rocket Fuel and Poison in Infant Formula! Oh my!

I've been avoiding this blog because it makes me feel really bad, not just for writing it, but because some moms who read this are going to feel really bad because they HAVE to feed their babies formula because they aren't breastfeeding. BUT just because I feel bad about making them feel bad, doesn't mean it shouldn't be said. (Telling people that smoking is bad makes them feel bad, but we say it because it's not only true but we are trying to reduce smoking because it's just not healthy).

"What? Baby Formula has been recalled?  In fact, between 1982 and 1994 alone, there were 22 significant recalls of infant formula in the United States due to health and safety problems.  Seven of these recalls were classified by the FDA as "Class I" or potentially life threatening."
http://www.breastfeeding.com/advocacy/advocacy_recalls.html

Well, over the past 2 years I've come across a few formula recalls and all of them are very concerning to me, not to mention just plain gross!

In April 2009 15 different top brands of formula were tested and perchlorate, a chemical used as the main ingredient in solid rocket fuel, contaminated every single can. This chemical is also found in ground water in 35 states, in higher concentrations in areas where shuttles take off, and "mixing contaminated powdered milk with contaminated water in those places could result in a dangerous exposure."
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=7242880&page=1
There was no recall because the amounts have not been proved unsafe - yet.

In October 2010 I noticed yet another sign on the shelf of formula cans. All Similac products had been recalled, but the reason wasn't stated. As it turns out, beetles were laying eggs in this factory and beetle bugs, body parts, and larvae were discovered / hatching in the formula powder. As gross as it is to think about feeding this to your newborn baby, the FDA says it "poses little to no threat to humans even when ingested." Can I just add that I recently was told that all cereals, crackers, flour, basically everything in my cupboard that was packaged in a factory has bug eggs in it, and these eggs will hatch over time which is one of the reasons an expiration date is stamped on these items. True it's not considered unsafe to consume, but it kinda makes me feel sick every time I pour a bowl of Smart Start. I can't imagine feeding my little baby formula knowing larvae is hatching in the bottle. It makes sense that bugs, rats, rat poop, larvae and God only knows what else is in all the processed foods we eat would end up in the manufactured baby foods that are handled and packaged in the same factories. Think I'm going to start feeding my 6 month old exclusive homemade babyfood (it isn't that hard to mash a banana!).

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/5819514/2010_similac_recall_5m_units_of_baby.html?cat=25

In 1993 bits of GLASS contaminated over 102,000 cans of Mead Johnson Infant Formula.

In September 2008 in an attempt to save money manufacturers watered down the baby formula and added the chemical Melamine to the mixture to produce a false level of protein when tested before distribution. "Melamine is a nitrogen-based compound used in industrial and commercial plastics. The chemical can cause kidney damage. More than 6,000 babies were fed the stuff became ill and three infants died. 160 babies are now suffering from acute kidney failure."
http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=tainted-baby-formula-kills-three-si-2008-09-17
Regarding this same recall, the article below states that over 6,200 babies are sick from the scandal involving the tainted formula powder and 4 babies have died from it.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,424389,00.html

Think this chemeical was only found in formula manufactured in China? WRONG! Melamine and Cyanuric Acid traces were found in over 90% of formula manufactured and distributed in USA.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27914218/

"The FDA and other experts said the melamine contamination in U.S.-made formula had occurred during the manufacturing process, rather than intentionally as was done in Chinese production. The manufacturers insist their products are safe."

"The chemical, which legally can be used in product packaging and a solution to clean manufacturing equipment, can bind with other chemicals in urine, potentially causing damaging stones in the kidney or bladder and, in extreme cases, kidney failure."

"A spreadsheet the AP obtained from the FDA under a Freedom of Information Act request stated that Mead Johnson's Infant Formula Powder, Enfamil LIPIL with Iron contained traces of melamine." "The FDA had incorrectly switched the names of the Mead Johnson product with Nestle's Good Start Supreme Infant Formula with Iron. That meant, Leon said, that the Nestle's Good Start had melamine while Mead Johnson's Enfamil had traces of cyanuric acid."

"The FDA said last month that the toxicity of cyanuric acid is under study, but that in the meantime it is "prudent" to assume that its potency is equal to that of melamine."

You might be wondering if these formulas distributed in the US were known to contain Cyanuric Acid and Malamine they would recall it, right?

"The agency would only seek to remove a product on the basis of a risk, based on scientific evidence."

So only if, and after science can prove that the amounts are harmful will the formula be removed.

"The FDA originally said there was no safe level for these contaminants in infant formula. So this formula is contaminated," said Jean Halloran, the group's director of Food Policy Initiatives. "It is very disturbing to us that no recall has been requested."

• Nestle's Good Start Supreme Infant Formula with Iron had two positive tests for melamine on one sample, with readings of 0.137 and 0.14 parts per million.

• Mead Johnson's Infant Formula Powder, Enfamil LIPIL with Iron had three positive tests for cyanuric acid, at an average of 0.247 parts per million.

"Separately, a third major formula maker — Abbott Laboratories, whose brands include Similac — told AP that in-house tests had detected trace levels of melamine in its infant formula. Those levels were below what FDA found in the other formulas, an Abbott spokesman said, and below any nation's safety guidelines.

The three firms — Abbott Laboratories, Nestle and Mead Johnson — manufacture more than 90 percent of all infant formula produced in the United States."

On a watering down formula related note: On Nov 25 2008 A young mom in Florida nearly killed her baby by adding too much water to the formula. "Adding too much water to powdered formula can cause abdominal pain, insufficient calories and an altered salt balance. Results can include excessive sleep, seizures, brain damage or death."
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/dec/02/na-diluted-formula-nearly-kills-baby/news-metro/

“The problem with infants is there’s this margin of safety that’s so narrow.” http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/28030635/

As a breastfeeding mom, you won't have to worry about measuring the perfect amount of (hopefully unpolluted water and untainted formula powder) in the middle of the night. No bottles to boil and nipples to sanitize. No chance of burning the baby b/c you can't over heat the milk in your breasts. You don't have to depend on some company to make sure they are adding the proper ingredients to your baby's diet. Your breastmilk makes the perfect balance of everything your baby needs, including things that no factory can reproduce!

Some defend formula by saying, "I was fed formula, and I turned out okay." True and people can live off junk food too, but that doesn't mean it's healthy or that it won't cause health problems later on. It's common knowledge that eating fast food isn't good for you either, but people still eat it. Well I think it's time to start educating mothers that formula isn't this perfectly concocted alternative to breastmilk.

I use to say, I'm not "against" formula, I'm just very "pro-breastfeeding" but I have to admit that the more I read about formula the more "pro-breastfeeding" I become. Even without all the new knowledge of the benefits discovered in breastmilk, the stuff they are finding in formula is making breastmilk look that much better - not just because of what's in breastmilk, but because of what's NOT in breastmilk, if that makes sense.