Peg has informed us of the article in her newspaper regarding Martek's fatty
acid additives that are now in so many baby bottles. I highly suggest that
Lactnetters interested in the real issues here obtain a copy of the Institute of
Medicine's report, "Infant Formula: Evaluating the Safety of New Ingredients."
In this report we see the shortcomings of the current approach to determining
the safety of new ingredients added to formulas. The safety applications made
to the FDA are done so by the manufacturer, in this case Martek. FDA just
takes their word that the ingredients are safe. However, these ingredients were
tested on rats and mice, a poor animal model, with no testing on brain cells or
for neurotoxicity. These ingredients were never tested to see if they were
effective, just "safe." The clinical trials on human babies are fraught with
still more problems. Poor evidence exists that these added fatty acids have any
type of developmental or behavioral benefits to babies. I would suggest a
letter to the editor pointing out what the public does not know about infant
formula has potentially harmful effects on infants. It is really time to start
passing on to the public what we know about the potential side effects of formula
use.

Marsha Walker, RN, IBCLC
Weston, MA


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