FDA sends warning to Nestle
Categories: Newborns, Babies, Health & safety, Eating & nutrition, That's entertainment
Well, put this under the list of things that really ought to not happen: Nestle's Good Start Infant Formula with Iron was tested by the FDA (the Food and Drug Administration in the United States) who found that the levels of calcium and phosphorus were not only below what the FDA requires, but also below what the product label states. The label says the formula has 64mg of calcium per 100 Kilocalories and 36 mg of phosphorus. The required amounts are 60mg (calcium) and 30mg (phosphorus) per 100 Kilocalories. The FDA's testing first found 58.2 mg of calcium, then 58.6 mg on a retest. The phosphorus measured in at 28.9 mg and 29.4 mg.
A warning letter to Nestle from the FDA, dated November 27, 2006, says that Nestle has 15 working days to respond to the letter and to let the FDA know how the problem will be fixed.
It may seem, just reading the numbers, that the amounts are "close enough" to the standards; but even a little bit of deficiency adds up when you think about how very many bottles a formula-fed child will consume. And, of course, the real issue here is trust. Parents and caregivers who buy formula have expectations that the company is being honest in their labeling practices and their advertising. As a parent who has used infant formula, I also had the expectation that the product was routinely tested and monitored by the company producing it. I think that is a fair and reasonable thing to expect. When we buy a container of formula, we are placing our faith and trust in the company making it, and we believe that they share our belief in the importance of baby formula being of the highest possible quality.
Nestle has not yet responded to this letter, at least not in any news release I can find at the moment. It will be interesting to see how they handle it.
Thanks, Amanda, for the tip.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Dawn 12-13-2006 @ 7:09PM
Gosh, I guess this is why Nestle has been boycotted by thinking moms and families for more than 20 years, huh? Nestle doesn't give a rap about your family or your baby's health. Do the research, run a google, this isn't a surprise, what is a surprise is that the media covered it at all. That's a nice surprise! Merry Christmas to me, and all the other boycotters out there! ;)
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Belinda 12-13-2006 @ 7:46PM
My daughter drank Good Start because that is what WIC gave us and she is completely healthy.
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jenifer scharpen 12-13-2006 @ 7:54PM
Hi Dawn,
Actually, I am a fellow Nestle boycotter (I even pull the candy out of my kids' Halloween stash rather than let them eat it). I was just trying to keep my personal bias out of the story.
And, I don't think the media really IS covering this; at least not like I think they ought to.
Thanks for commenting.
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jen 12-13-2006 @ 8:10PM
Jen Scharpen and I were just emailing about the fact that we both boycott Nestle today. I am so glad to know that others boycott it still.
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Lola 12-13-2006 @ 8:54PM
My nephew was on Goodstart and got terribly anemic, had to switch to another formula, had a bad reaction to the switch and had to be hospitalized for dehydration. Belinda, just because your child didn't suffer ill effects from Nestle's substandard (according to the FDA) product, doesn't mean there's nothing wrong with it.
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Maddy 12-13-2006 @ 9:11PM
Can you give more info on this boycott?
Thanks.
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Amanda. 12-13-2006 @ 10:05PM
Thank you so much for sharing this information with your readers.
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momma2mingbu 12-13-2006 @ 10:30PM
Maddy -
http://www.babymilkaction.org/pages/boycott.html
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Uly 12-13-2006 @ 10:47PM
Well, bully for you, Belinda. Some children thrive on sugar water, doesn't mean that people should get away with marketing it to them - or lying about it and calling it something else.
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sfast 12-14-2006 @ 1:12AM
Wow, that really worries me. My six month old uses Enfamil and I know I am pretty happy with it. But just a few weeks ago I had to stop by the store to get some formula and they were out of Enfamil and goodstart was on sale. I never noticed any problems with using it but I think it is horrible that some babies are made sick by it.
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Big Grown-Up Mommy (Heather) 12-14-2006 @ 9:17AM
Just the other day I was idly wondering if it might be okay to start relaxing my stance on the boycott; it gets hard to remember all the various companies Nestle has their hands into.
I guess not.
We've been boycotting all things Nestle and Nestle-owned for years and years and will continue.
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Lactating Lady 12-14-2006 @ 11:14AM
Maddy, if you want to learn more about the boycott, there's a great book called "Milk, Money, and Madness." I can't recommend it enough; it's fascinating, and it's an easy read.
I'm so glad to know that there are other boycotters still out there! In the back of "Milk...", there are a couple of pages that list all of Nestle's holdings.
(Revlon, Edy's here in the western U.S., Stouffer's, Purina, it's a REALLY long list!)
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Erin 12-14-2006 @ 2:09PM
I called Nestle about this. Since we switched my daughter to formula, she's been on Goodstart Supreme with DHA/ARA because she seems to spit up less (we tried all others). In case anyone is wondering, the sample was taken of Goodstart Supreme Liquid WITHOUT DHA/ARA. Not sure that makes me feel 100% comfortable, but....
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daemon 12-14-2006 @ 2:33PM
I was skimming through the Nestle product list to see what I use that's on there, and stumbled across Purina brand dog food. We bought some of that for our dog because it was the cheapest we saw, but our dog actively dislikes it and won't eat it. Smart dog. On further inspection, the ingredient list isn't really full of things I want to feed to a pet.
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Jasmine 12-14-2006 @ 3:47PM
GoodStart is the WIC formula here in Kentucky.
This makes me so angry... I breastfed until I had to quit(bipolar and the only meds that work for me aren't breastfeeding safe) and being poor and in college, my husband and I can't afford to buy formula.
It makes me wonder if maybe this is the reason why our daughter is so small (he and I are both 6'3" and small would NEVER be a word used to describe us).
I hadn't heard of a nestle boycott but I am doing my research now.
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tigger 12-15-2006 @ 10:07AM
I would think that reduced amounts of calcium & phosphorus would not make a baby sick, but would become apparent a few years down the road after continued use (e.g. susceptibility to fractures, osteoporosis). I wouldn't think that you'd notice any reaction to it by your baby in the short term...
Does anyone know if there are reviews or comparisons of the different formula brands? My baby of 4mos. is breastfed but if I wean before 1yr which is likely I'd need to switch to formula until he can take cow's milk (or so I'm told).
BTW, lots of good info on the Nestle boycott here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nestl%C3%A9_boycott
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Jen's Mom 12-15-2006 @ 12:15PM
And just to add a little fuel to the Nestle bonfire, Nestle is among the long list of companies who buy cocoa beans that have been harvested using child slave labor. Hershey is on the list, too.
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Brandy 12-28-2006 @ 3:31PM
Belinda, just because WIC gave you that formula doesn't mean that it's the best food for your baby. I work in WIC in Illinois and we are avid supporters of breastfeeding because no matter how the formula companies advertise, the fact is that breastfeeding is best.
Formula is only given by the government because they know that many of those who choose to formula feed do so because of lack of education or poor socio-economic backgrounds that are not very BF friendly. One of the main goals of WIC, as a nutrition program, is to educate women on the importance of breastfeeding. We want all women to know that, despite how the formula companies bend it in their ads, there is NO SUBSTITUTE FOR BREASTMILK. WIC's goal is to have EVERY baby breastfed exclusively for at least the first 6 months of life if not the first year (along with solid foods when appropriate). The reason that many people feel uncomfortable about breastfeeding comes from society's view of breasts as toys, not functioning parts of the body. Before World War II, what do you think women fed their babies? Yeah, that's right. Ol' Number One and Number Two.
If you think that formula companies are just trying to help feed your baby, look up some of the info on how much they profit, how they violate international law with their ads, and how much damage their product does to impoverished people, right in this country.
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Desiree 12-28-2006 @ 3:47PM
Well Brandy, I wish WIC was like that everywhere! Here they push formula on you and do not encourage or support breastfeeding at all. At least they give enfamnil here though...
People do some research on formula in general and you would never want to feed the crap to your kids again! Enter "formula scandal and Chandra"
http://www.cbc.ca/national/news/chandra/
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Michele Hart 3-09-2007 @ 9:57AM
First, not all mothers are able to breastfeed so please don't be insensitive to us who are physically unable by CAPITALIZING THE STATEMENT THAT BREASTFEEDING IS BEST. Darn straight it is, but glad to know there are other options for those who cannot. Bottom line, the baby must be fed. Anyway, I also use Good Start with DHA and ARA, and now that I've found this blog, I'm very concerned. I used it due to spitting up, and Good Start seemed to work the best (I've tried just about anything I could get my hands on in Chicago). What I really want to know is if Nestle has responded to the warning letter and changed their formula? If not, can anyone suggest an alternate formula brand that has worked well for a baby who spits up quite a bit? Thank you kindly.
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