Aluminum Found in Infant Formula

In an article published in BMC Pediatrics, researchers from Keele University in Staffordshire, U.K. pointed out that their recent research published in this journal highlighted the issue of the high content of aluminium in infant formulas. The expectation was that the findings would serve as a catalyst for manufacturers to address this significant problem. It is critically important that parents and other users have confidence in the safety of infant formulas and that they have reliable information to use in choosing a product with a lower content of aluminium. Herein, we have significantly extended the scope of the previous research and the aluminium content of 30 of the most widely available and often used infant formulas has been measured.

Both ready-to-drink milks and milk powders were contaminated with aluminium. The concentration of aluminium across all milk products ranged from ca 100 to 430 μg/L. The concentration of aluminium in two soy-based milk products was 656 and 756 μg/L. The intake of aluminium from non-soy-based infant formulas varied from ca 100 to 300 μg per day. For soya-based milks it could be as high as 700 μg per day.

All 30 infant formulas were contaminated with aluminium. There was no clear evidence that that contamination had been addressed and reduced. It is the opinion of the authors of this study that regulatory and other non-voluntary methods are now required to reduce the aluminium content of infant formulas and thereby protect infants from chronic exposure to dietary aluminium.

In its Public Health Statement for Aluminum, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention state:

• An average adult in the United States consumes about 7-9 mg of aluminum per day in food.
• The concentration of aluminum in natural waters (e.g., ponds, lakes, streams) is generally below 0.1 milligrams per liter (mg/L).
• People generally consume little aluminum from drinking water. Water is sometimes treated with aluminum salts while it is processed to become drinking water. But, even then, aluminum levels generally do not exceed 0.1 mg/L. Several cities have reported concentrations as high as 0.4–1 mg/L of aluminum in their drinking water.
• Oral exposure to aluminum is usually not harmful. Some studies show that people exposed to high levels of aluminum may develop Alzheimer’s disease, but other studies have not found this to be true. We do not know for certain that aluminum causes Alzheimer’s disease.
• Some people who have kidney disease store a lot of aluminum in their bodies. The kidney disease causes less aluminum to be removed from the body in urine. Sometimes such people developed bone or brain diseases that doctors suspect were caused by the excess aluminum.
• Although over-the-counter oral products containing aluminum are considered safe in healthy individuals at recommended doses, adverse effects have been observed following long-term use in some individuals.
• Brain and bone disease caused by high levels of aluminum in the body have been seen in children with kidney disease. Bone disease has also been seen in children taking some medicines containing aluminum. In these children, the bone damage is caused by aluminum in the stomach preventing the absorption of phosphate, a chemical compound required for healthy bones.
• Aluminum is found in breast milk, but only a small amount of this aluminum will enter the infant’s body through breastfeeding. Typical aluminum concentrations in human breast milk range from 0.0092 to 0.049 mg/L. Aluminum is also found in soy-based infant formula (0.46–0.93 mg/L) and milk-based infant formula (0.058–0.15 mg/L).
• We do not know if aluminum will cause birth defects in people. Birth defects have not been seen in animals.
• Very young animals appeared weaker and less active in their cages and some movements appeared less coordinated when their mothers were exposed to large amounts of aluminum during pregnancy and while nursing. In addition, aluminum also affected the animal’s memory. These effects are similar to those that have been seen in adults.
• It does not appear that children are more sensitive to aluminum than adult animals are.