Amy asks:

1. Is formula Food & Drug Admin-approved in the USA? From their easy to
Google up website:

*"Does FDA approve infant formulas before they are marketed?*

"No, FDA does not approve infant formulas before they can be marketed.
However, all formulas marketed in the United States must meet federal
nutrient requirements and infant formula manufacturers must notify the FDA
prior to marketing a new formula."

Back to Liz now.  Formula is a substance that is considered a food, and
"generally recognized as safe (GRAS), and thus has less stringent
oversight.  It comes under the Food part of FDA -- not the Drug part.

All formulas are intended to meet basic regulatory standards (see ^^^).
All the marketing hullabaloo that formula mfgrs make is for the extras and
add-ons.  I like to say: The milkshake is always supposed to be the same.
It is the sprinkles on top that are the focus of all the New and Improved
marketing campaigns.
https://www.fda.gov/food/people-risk-foodborne-illness/questions-answers-consumers-concerning-infant-formula#:~:text=March%201%2C%202006.-,Does%20FDA%20approve%20infant%20formulas%20before%20they%20are%20marketed%3F,to%20marketing%20a%20new%20formula
.

2.  Why aren't human donor milk banks stepping up to support?

Some of them are, making it easier for non-hospitalized babies to get milk
from a Human Milk Bank of North America (HMBANA) non-profit human milk bank
-- so long as the NICU patients who are the prime "customers" have first
dibs.

There is a shortage of HMBANA milk, overall, compared to pre-COVID
years.  COVID impacted donations to all HMBANA banks. People just were NOT
going out and doing things (like, drop their donation at a milk bank) like
they had been.  And esp. in the beginning of the pandemic, folx were unsure
and scared about the role milk plaed in transmission.  COVID does *not*
impact the safety of milk. It doesn't likely cross over into milk at all,
and if it does have the nerve to do so, the pasteurization process used by
all HMBANA banks would kill it off. But nowadays things like the weak links
in the supply chain (think: transportation) has a real impact on the
transport of perishables like donor milk.

Folks who have freezers-full are the outliers (despite what social media
would make us think).  And some of them are unable to give that milk to a
HMBANA bank.  Often it is because of an innocuous reason, like the
lactating parent is taking some kind of long-term medication that makes
that milk unsuitable for donation at a HMBANA location.

And we have to remember: that milk comes from SOMEone.  A whole lotta
time-effort-altrustic effort goes into having a HMBANA bank develop
relationships with its donor base that promotes their continued giving.

Google gives us access to a short, informative interview with the
HMBASNA Exec Dir about the shortage of donations to HMBANA banks.
https://www.marketplace.org/2022/02/17/there-will-always-be-a-need-for-donor-milk-says-leader-of-a-milk-bank/


-- 
Liz Brooks, JD, IBCLC, FILCA
Wyndmoor, PA, USA
Private practice IBCLC, speaker, author, educator, lactation advocate
LizBrooksIBCLC.com    @LizBrooksIBCLC

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