Here in England, we use cooled boiled water for reconstituting infant milk formula (& sterilise bottles & teats used for storing milk) until babies are about 1 year old.  

How sad is that!

I recall having this same conversation on lactnet last year ago (see *water for formula* & *belt & braces* in the archives) & was shot down in flames!

By boiling, we simply use freshly drawn water, & bring it to the boil in an electric kettle, which switches itself off once it reaches boiling point (or seconds afterwards)

This water is left to cool, (without reboiling to make tea!), before mixing the feeds. 

I don't know what concentration of solutes would be, as steam does escape from the spout, but I expect a kettle is the equivalent of a covered pan (as some steam would probably raise the pan lid & partially evaporate). 

Did you have a vigorously boiling pan (maximum steam) or turn the heat down so that the water was just simmering (minimum steam) for the 5 minutes, Diane? Also was the timing from cold to boiling, or from the moment the water started to boil?

I've just tried boiling 400 ml of water in my automatic kettle & the vapour loss was minimal but my measuring jug isn't very accurate! 

This leaflet on bottle feeding is produced by the UK department of health (notice no formula adverts)

http://www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/08/44/54/04084454.pdf

Tap water for drinking, & clean, but not sterilised, utensils are used for containing & serving non-milk drinks & solid foods after 6 months of age. If these older babies are given *freshly made* powdered & reconstituted formula, then tap water & clean, but not sterile, bottles & teats or spouts are OK.
European food safety authority recommendations
http://www.efsa.eu.int/press_room/press_release/696_en.html
 
This site recommends boiled but not boiling water.  Anyone know what *shs* stands for?
http://www.shsna.com/html/news/Reconstituting_formula.htm
 
This is the UK department of health breastfeeding leaflet
http://www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/08/44/52/04084452.pdf



 
Diane wiessinger wrote

<Yikes!

I've been having trouble with this notion that formula water shouldn't 
=
be boiled because it "concentrates the solutes."  Well, I just boiled 2 
=
saucepans of water for 5 minutes each, 400 ml in each saucepan.  Then I 
=
allowed each to cool until it stopped steaming.  One was uncovered the 
=
whole time, one was covered the whole time.

The uncovered saucepan lost 75 ml, or nearly 20 percent of its volume.  
=
Solute levels in that water are now 25 percent higher than they were!   
=
(In one case you're comparing a changing amount to a stable amount, in 
=
the other case you're comparing a stable amount to a changing amount.  
=
The math is different.  Think what happens to the solutes if you reduce 
=
the water by 50 percent.  They increase by 100 percent.)

The covered saucepan lost 25 ml, or just over 6 percent of its volume.  
=
Solutes in that water are now roughly 6 and a half percent more =
concentrated.

So now I'm a believer.  Don't boil that water, folks.  Or if you must, 
=
by all means keep it tightly covered when you do.

(But someone please remind me: what *is* the formula-feeding mother to 
=
do if she wants the cleanest possible water for mixing but doesn't want 
=
to boil?)>

 

 










Sheila Company

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