[English] DHA/ARA unsafe, says report

The report is based on a Freedom of Information Act request that the
Cornucopia Institute filed with the Food and Drug Administration, the result
of which was the uncovering of 98 reports filed by parents and physicians
detailing incidences when babies had reacted adversly to formula containing
DHA/ARA. The reported incidences range from cases of vomitting and diarrhea
that stopped when babies switched to non-DHA/ARA formula to babies being
treated in intensive care units for severe dehydration and seizures.

The FDA has never been convinced of the safety of DHA/ARA additives,
according to the report. In its initial analysis of the additives, the FDA
stated it had reached no determination on their safety status. The
administration also noted that some studies had reported unexpected deaths
among infants who had been fed with DHA/ARA formula. Despite its
reservations, inexplicably the FDA did not withhold approval for the
additives.

INFACT Canada has long questioned the use of DHA and ARA (also marketed as
omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids) in infant formula. All major formula
companies have added the fatty acids to their products in recent years,
claiming that they aid in brain and eye development. However most test
results have found the additives have negligable effects on infant
development. But because DHA and ARA are found naturally in breastmilk,
formula companies market DHA/ARA formula as "closer to breastmilk."

Martek Biosciences Corporation, the company which supplies almost all
formula companies with DHA/ARA, has admitted that the purpose of the
additives is not to encourage healthy development, but to be used as a
marketing tool. In its promotional material to encourage investment, Martek
has stated:

"Infant formula is currently a commodity market, with all products being
almost identical and marketers competing intensely to differentiate their
product. Even if [DHA/ARA] has no benefit, we think it would be widely
incorporated into formulas, as a marketing tool and to allow companies to
promote their formula as "closest to human milk."

While DHA and ARA are found naturally in breastmilk, the idea that Martek's
manufactured acids make formula closer to breastmilk is ridiculous. Martek
produces DHA and ARA from fermented algae and fungus, and uses hexane (a
neurotoxin) in the manufacturing process. Simply adding these synthetic
substances to formula cannot make artificial baby milk behave like
breastmilk, which is a complex, living substance that provides babies with
the best possible nutrition and immunological protection.

Regular infant formula puts babies' health at risk, but now infants are
being harmed for the sake of a marketing tool. This is an egregious case of
formula companies putting profit margins above infant health. In light of
this report, it is imperative that all parents be made aware of the
potential risks of feeding their babies formula with DHA/ARA. The products
should be pulled from the market until their safety can be properly assessed
by independent investigations.

Babies should not have to get sick just because companies want to raise
their sales figures.

For the more information on the Cornucopia report, please see:
http://foodconsumer.org/7777/8888/C_hildren_amp_W_omen_33/012510002008_Lab-made_imitation_breast_milk_puts_infants_at_risk_study_shows.shtml

For the full report, see: http://cornucopia.org/DHA/DHA_FullReport.pdf