PITFALLS IN THE DESIGN AND MANUFACTURE OF INFANT FORMULAS

The composition of modern infant formulae is basically oriented on the ''golden standard'' human milk and influenced by several official reg ulations and recommendations (EC, ESPGAN, etc.). This article will foc us on two recent improvements in the field of long-chain polyunsaturat ed fatty acids (LCPs) and protein hydrolysates. The addition of LCPs f or preterm formulae was recommended recently by ESPGAN (the European S ociety for Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition), Our research has focused on this problem for many years and we have found a good sourc e of LCPs using specially prepared egg-yolk lipids. Others have used f ish oils and run into the problem of growth retardation. Therefore, th e possible sources of LCPs have to be discussed very critically and th e alternatives will be shown. Also, new developments like the use of s ingle-cell oils will be discussed. Second, the use of protein hydrolys ates have been introduced for the so-called hypoantigenic or hypoaller genic formulae. Hypoantigenic formulae for preventive use have to be d ifferentiated clearly from hypoallergenic formulae for treatment of pr oved cows' milk protein allergy. The problems of designing suitable hy drolysates that are low in antigenicity and good in taste will be outl ined. The determination of the molecular weight distribution by gel ch romatography will be compared critically with the newer techniques. Th e ELISA technique for testing the antigenicity is recommended before a ny in vivo evaluation. So far, the anaphylactic guinea-pig model is th e most sensitive in vivo testing method. Summing up, modern infant for mulae manufacture is much more dependent on modern laboratory techniqu es, which have to be chosen critically and must be adapted to the newe st state of the art.