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The first year of an infant’s life is the period of most rapid growth, with many physical, psychological and mental changes. The digestive functions develop and nutritional needs evolve. Infant foods must be adapted accordingly, with their nutritional value, organoleptic properties, etc., specifically tailored to the successive stages of growth.
R&D is a long, complex and costly process. Today, the infant food industry spends an estimated 2.5% of its annual turnover as it continually researches and develops better products. R&D covers several stages: identifying a particular nutritional need in infants and young children, designing a product to meet that need, sourcing the right ingredients, manufacturing a prototype product, and making clinical trials in this age group. These activities involve many specialists, including nutritionists, paediatricians, dieticians, food technologists, microbiologists, toxicologists and experts in regulatory affairs.
Microbiologically safe milk-based powders for reconstitution were first manufactured in 1867. Rapid developments in food technology in the 20th century led to large-scale production of a range of high-quality infant foods officially accepted by the medical community.
Infant formula may be the only food an infant receives in the first months of life. It must therefore provide total nutrition. Mother’s milk is the natural standard for any infant formula, but establishing its exact composition is a complex and still unfinished task. Close collaboration between research institutes and infant food manufacturing companies over the last 50 years has led to the progressive discovery of major and minor components of mother’s milk and to the development of improved infant formula based on cow’s milk.
By adding numerous biologically active substances to cow’s milk, in small but precise amounts, infant formula manufacturers have created products with nutritional profiles ever closer to the natural standard, human milk
Protein and mineral content (including sodium) have been reduced, fats have been modified and enriched with specific fatty acids, and vitamin levels have been adjusted to approach those found in human milk. Formulas have also been enriched with other micronutrients such as iron or zinc, for example, that are essential for infant health. More recent products aim to reproduce the microbiological effects and lower allergenicity of breast milk, and ingredients such as nucleotides, which exist in small amounts in human milk, have been added to formulas.
Improved knowledge of how some infants react has led to the development of specially adapted formulas. For example, a soya-based formula has been developed for infants who are intolerant to cow’s milk. Babies born into families with a history of allergies are provided with hypoallergenic formula, while infants with reflux problems are given formula containing thickening agents. Addition of probiotics reduces rotavirus diarrhoea, and prebiotics may help infants to develop intestinal flora.
For sick infants, e.g. babies born with metabolic disorders, manufacturers have researched and developed a range of specialized products for use as part of a therapeutic diet. These include formulas designed to reduce neonatal hypocalcemic convulsions or iron deficiency, semi-elemental formulas for short gut syndrome and chronic diarrhoea, and gluten-reduced cereals for easier treatment of coeliac disease.
At around six months, infants begin to need iron in their diet, as well as foods with higher caloric density. Iron-enriched infant cereals are of great benefit at this age.
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