On Wednesday 13 March 2002 10:19 am, R. Bacon wrote:
> The bottom line is, where is all this money coming from?
> Who is paying the hospitals and ingratiating themselves
> at the same time ?  Why are the formula companies
> so rich ?  Someone must be buying formula at hugely
> inflated prices.  Why do we let them get away with it ?

Unfortunately I think it's probably the mothers that are buying formula
at hugely inflated prices.  I just found the label information.... a
30-oz can of powdered infant formula w/iron makes 223 oz of formula.
That's about 1.75 gallons.  From what I've heard at a low-end price of
$17 for that large can, formula costs customers at least $9.71 a gallon.
For families that use the concentrate (one brand around $3.00 for a
13/oz can... 5 of which would make 1 gallon of formula) they spend
around $15 per gallon.  For the ready to use, one major brand costs
$4.39 for a 32-oz can, which makes a gallon around $17.50.  The
single-serving 8-oz cans cost around $31.50 a gallon for one major
brand.  Another major brand in 4-oz ready to use bottles?  *$73.50 a
gallon*. Prices except the $17 are from a major southeastern drugstore
chain.  I don't know enough about marketing to know how much the chain
and distributor take from that, but even figuring in the extra water and
supplies for making the liquid concentrates and the single-use products,
that is a KILLING off of what is essentially cow milk protein, fats,
sugars, and vitamins.


--
Elisa H. Casey
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