Let me add my congratulations to Marsha Walker on her well-written letter to
the IOM.  We can only hope that this Committee or particularly the Institute
of Medicine (IOM) will listen to the concerns of many of us who work with
babies.  And particularly since so few infants are exclusively breastfeed, we
all have concerns about the use of infant formula because it effects so many
infants in the USA.

I believe that Marsha covered the concerns of DHA very well.  I would like to
add that DHA is one of many genetically modified organisms being put into
infant formula.  Supposedly, the agenda at this public meeting was to also
address the use of lactoferrin and probiotics added to infant formula.

All these substances share a common link.  These substances are either in
human milk or the result of ingestion of human milk (probiotics) and they are
now being genetically modified. The infant formula industry is trying to
produce an exact duplication of mother's milk.

We have a new industry, the recombinant human lactoferrin industry, built
around the research of human milk.  In fact one of the companies, Agennix,
was co-founded by a professor of Baylor College of Medicine.  One of the
scientific advisors for this company is the President of Baylor College of
Medicine.

DMV International, part of the largest dairy companies in the world applied
and recently received GRAS from the FDA for "milk" lactoferrin.  Their
company literature on lactoferrin states that there are "protective effects
for HIV and cytomegalovirus, Herpes simplex type 1 and 2, hepatitis C,
influenza and rotavirus."
http://www.dmv-international.com/nutrit/literat/pdf/15524_7.pdf
Despite their literature discussing "bovine lactoferrin," bovines (cows) have
little or no lactoferrin (Lonnerdal et al.).  Thus, one must believe that
bovine lactoferrin is lactoferrin produced through transgenics.  (lactoferrin
is also produced by fermentation--Agennix produces its lactoferrin by this
process)Cow embryos are modified to carry the human gene for lactoferrin.
DMV collaborates with Pharming which supposedly has a herd of transgenic cows
in Finland.  While this company will advertise the protective benefits of
lactoferrin against hiv, cmv, etc, women around the world are discouraged
from breastfeeding because of hiv, cmv, etc.  So what are the studies they
have that show that human lactoferrin has protective benefits against hiv,
cmv.  Why don't we see them?  Is breastfeeding a carrier of these diseases?
or a protector against these diseases?  And is there an economic imperative
to view mother's milk as a carrier of disease rather than a protector from
disease?

Another interesting case, is Portagen.  We use Portagen because it has the
MCT oils in it which are supposedly beneficial for infants who have specific
health problems regarding digestion of fats.  Yet human milk has bile-salt
stimulated lipase (only found in human and gorilla milks).  This lipase
hydrolyzes milk fat to free fatty acids and glycerol within 30 minutes.  It
is destroyed by pasteurization.  There is a patent on a synthetically made
bile salt stimulated lipase to be placed in infant formula. (I believe this
is a patent for Portagen but am not sure at this point) This lipase and
lipoprotein lipase  in human milk compensate for immature pancreatic function
and for the absence of amylaze in neonates--especially premies.
Yet instead mothers are convinced that their milk isn't good enough.

I can list many more examples of how destructive this situation has become to
breastfeeding.  That the safety of these ingredients in infant formula are
mostly monitored by the companies themselves is a disastrous system. I
believe the acceptance of these "new" additions to infant formula is because
the public is basicly being left in the dark.  It maybe that most Americans
want every component in infant formula genetically engineered.  I accept
majority rule.  I do not accept the veil of secrecy that seems to have eroded
the truth of this situation.  (My letter is available by request from (Sandra
Schlicker, IOM)  [log in to unmask] or you can e-mail me and I will send it by
attachment--6 pages long) Valerie W. McClain, IBCLC

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