A Workshop Session on Monday, March 23, addressed Infant Formula Nutrition: Regulatory and Safety Evaluation of Ingredients. This session provided a forum for discussing one of the Annual Meeting Themes—Approaches for Protecting Vulnerable Populations. This workshop was chaired by A. Wallace Hayes, Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Andover, Massachusetts, and Brinda Mahadevan, Abbott Laboratories, Columbus, Ohio.
This session provided a comprehensive overview of the history of substitutes for breastfeeding as well as the regulatory and research efforts related to the safety and nutrition of formula. Because of research related to understanding human milk biology, advancements have occurred in the safety and composition of infant formula so that non-breastfed infants receive the nutrition needed for growth and development.
Since 1980, the US Food and Drug Administration has regulated infant formula to ensure its safety and nutritional value. It was noted during this session that formula is the most regulated food in the United States. The FDA regulates the composition, product processing conditions, and clinical data, as well as ingredient safety requirements.
The workshop presenters described how the science has advanced over the decades. Because of this enhanced understanding, the time is right for innovation for improving the attributes of formula so that the needs of all infants can be served. Speakers encouraged scientists in attendance to address these challenges. For example, will it be possible to have formula of a dynamic nature such as that of breast milk over the lactation period for mothers? How can scientific advances help to address the immunological benefits of breastfeeding and apply this understanding to formula development. Research holds the key to our understanding of how to improve this commercial product that is essential to the growth and development of infants around the globe.
Other speakers included Carrie L. Assar, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, US FDA, College Park, Maryland; Roger Clemens, Horn/USC School of Pharmacy, University of Southern California, Los, Angeles, California; Clare Kruger, Spherix Consulting, a division of ChromaDex, Inc. Rockville, Maryland, and Bjorn Thorsrud, Developmental & Reproductive Toxicology, MPI Research, Mattawan, Michigan.
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