MEASURED CONSUMPTION OF COMMERCIAL INFANT FOOD-PRODUCTS IN GERMAN INFANTS - RESULTS FROM THE DONALD STUDY

Background: Commercial food products intended for infants form an impo rtant part of the diet. Such products are defined as special dietetic food by food legislation. However, quantitative consumption data in th e context of the current European Community (EC) food regulations have not been available up to now. Methods: Six hundred eighty 3-day weigh ed diet records from 3-, 6-, 9-, and 12-month-old infants involved in the DONALD (Dortmund Nutritional and Anthropometrical Longitudinally D esigned) Study were evaluated regarding overall and individual consump tion of commercial infant food (CIF). Here, CIF was allocated to the f ood categories of the current EC directives. Results: Four hundred eig hteen varieties of infant food were recorded. The total CIF (formulae; beikost [any food or drink other than breast milk or infant and follo w-on formulae]) reached percentages of the total food intake (includin g breast milk) of 51% (47%; 4%), 62% (33%; 29%), 53% (20%; 32%), and 3 7% (13%; 24%) at the ages of 3, 6, 9 and 12 months, respectively. Appr oximately 55% (95%) of the 3-month-old infants (range, 6-12 months) co nsumed some sort of CIF, but the highest amounts were observed at 6 mo nths and the highest numbers of consumers at 9 months. Depending on th e definition of ''high consumers'' of CIF, the individual consumption quantities (in grams per kilogram per day) differed by a maximum of 60 % but high consumers were always found in the 6-month-old group. dConc lusion: The high proportions of CIF in the diet during a critical deve lopmental period call for a guaranteed high nutritional and safety qua lity of CIF and for realistic data on consumption patterns.