Enterobacter sakazakii found rarely in infant formula
The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) recently conducted a targeted food surveillance to assess the situation of Enterobacter sakazakii in powdered infant formula. "Enterobacter sakazakii can be found in the environment, but it generally causes disease only in people with weakened immune systems. Enterobacter sakazakii can cause invasive infection such as bacteria in blood or brain infection.
Pre-term infants, neonates (28 days old or below), infants less than 2 months of age, low-birth-weight infants (below 2.5 kg) and infants with weakened immunity, are at greater risk," a CFS spokesman said today (December 21). The centre collected 100 samples of powdered infant formula from the local market for testing of Enterobacter sakazakii. The samples, which involve 17 different brands, are from different countries.
All results were satisfactory. "The World Health Organisation recommends that infants should be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life to achieve optimal growth, development and health. For those who are not breastfed, risk of infection can be greatly reduced by correctly preparing and storing the powdered infant formula.
Reconstitution of powdered infant formula with water that is no less than 70 degrees Celsius can significantly inactivate Enterobacter sakazakii. Feeds prepared in advance should be cooled immediately after preparation, stored in a refrigerator and used within 24 hours of preparation. Reconstituted feed should be re-warmed, no more than 15 minutes, immediately before feeding," the spokesman said.
"For high-risk infants who cannot be breastfed, caregivers should use commercially sterile liquid formula," he added. The spokesman also urged the trade to implement preventive measures (such as good manufacturing practice) as well as monitoring and environmental management programmes to reduce the risk of product contamination.
I question the statement by the World Helath Organization (WHO), "For those who are not breastfed, risk of infection can be greatly reduced by correctly preparing and storing the powdered infant formula." How do they know this? E.sakazakii is an intrinsic factor of powdered infant formula, how will preparing and storing this infant formula prevent infection? Many of the cases of infant death ocurred when infants were in hospitals (premature infants who never went home). Testing was done to determine how the contamination ocurred. It was not the storage or preparation of the product, it was the product itself. It appears to me that the WHO statement is shifting the focus of the problem from the industry to those who care for infants.
I agree with Valerie to a point, as the WHO perhaps are over confident with regards to assuming powdered baby formula is safer from bacterial infection, but I must point out something darker. In the wild, offspring of any animal with defects (e.g not being able to consume breast milk) have a lower life expectancy and chance of survival. Trying not to get such individuals infected by disease in their already weakend state becomes a matter of providing extra out of the ordinary care, as in the case of powdered baby forumula. Such infections are what we, the healthy of our species (as rude and shallow as that sounds) encounter on a daily basis and over come and survive. providing infection free nutrients for such weak babies thus becomes an incredibly sterile, almost impossible task. my opinion atleast.