Consumer Health Advocacy: Product Analysis
Mead Johnson is a major manufacturer of infant formula both domestically and globally with its flagship product being Enfamil. The company had global sales of $2.83 billion in 2009 with two-thirds of its revenue coming from outside the United States where declining birth rates have led to a reduced market share. The company was gaining a presence in such emerging markets in the People's Republic of China, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam and was starting to develop a presence in India. Enfamil, the company's flagship brand commanded 11.7% of the $22.3 billion market for infant formula worldwide in 2008.[1] [Source: Wikipedia]
Infant Formula, while being a necessary replacement when breast milk is not available, has been associated with a wide range of adverse health outcomes in infants. We have cataloged over 41 studies on the potential dangers of infant formula feeding in infants here http://www.greenmedinfo.com/category/toxic-ingredients/infant-formula.
Why is infant formula associated with increased morbidity and mortality? We believe that many of the ingredients in these products are not always biologically appropriate, and due to the fact that many are byproducts of the mining and chemical industries, may act as endocrine disruptors or metabolic poisons. For example, vitamin A acetate is produced through "total chemical synthesis" through a petrochemically dependent process. It has been linked to birth defects, and so may be very different from the type of vitamin A (e.g. retinol) found in natural carotenoids like beta-carotene (technically two linked retinol molecules).
Below you will see the ingredients linked to our Problem Substances and Natural Substances database. We hope this information encourages reform in the infant formula industry and that more suitable ingredients are used to reduce the known risks associated with the ue of infant formula as presently formulated.
Ingredients | Toxicity Level | Cumulative Knowledge | Abstract Count |
---|---|---|---|
Nonfat Milk | possibly | 475 | 60 |
Lactose | not determined | ||
Vegetable Oil | not determined | ||
Palm Olein | not determined | ||
Coconut Oil | none | 341 | 102 |
Soy Oil | not determined | ||
High Oleic Sunflower Oil | not determined | ||
Whey Protein Concentrate | none | 721 | 148 |
Galactooligosaccharides | not determined | ||
Polydextrose | not determined | ||
Less than 1%: Mortierella Alpina Oil | not determined | ||
Crypthecodinium Cohnii Oil | possibly | 2 | 1 |
Soy Lecithin | none | 29 | 9 |
Vitamin A Palmitate | possibly | 6 | 3 |
Vitamin D3 | none | 11101 | 1611 |
Vitamin E Acetate | probably | 91 | 15 |
Vitamin K1 | none | 961 | 154 |
Thiamin Hydrochloride | none | 335 | 79 |
Riboflavin | none | 404 | 68 |
Vitamin B6 Hydrochloride | none | 968 | 134 |
Vitamin B12 | none | 1421 | 211 |
Niacinamide | none | 363 | 63 |
Folic Acid | none | 1281 | 200 |
Calcium Pantothenate | none | 124 | 23 |
Biotin | none | 114 | 17 |
Ascorbic Acid | none | 5845 | 1372 |
Inositol | none | 127 | 16 |
Calcium Carbonate | possibly | 198 | 21 |
Calcium Phosphate | possibly | 6 | 4 |
Magnesium Oxide | none | 2442 | 358 |
Ferrous Sulfate | definitely | 22 | 3 |
Zinc Sulfate | definitely | 5 | 4 |
Manganese Sulfate | definitely | 2 | 1 |
Cupric Sulfate | definitely | 54 | 19 |
Potassium Iodide | none | 160 | 31 |
Sodium Selenite | definitely | 23 | 16 |
Potassium Citrate | possibly | 1 | 1 |
Choline Chloride | possibly | 0 | 0 |
Potassium Chloride | probably | 70 | 7 |
Sodium Chloride | possibly | 14 | 3 |
Nucleotides | not determined | ||
Cytidine 5'-Monophosphate | not determined | ||
Disodium Urdine 5'-Monophosphate | not determined | ||
Adenosine 5'-Monophosphate | possibly | 2 | 1 |
Disodium Guanosine 5'-Monophosphate | possibly | 4 | 2 |
Taurine | none | 246 | 71 |
L-Carnitine | none | 508 | 84 |
Do you have a consumer product you would like us to evaluate? Submit it to [email protected]