Selected vitamins, minerals and fatty acids in infant formulas in the United States

Infant formulas (IF) are consumed during a short but critical growth period and are the sole source of nutrition for at least part of this time for non-breastfed infants. The 1980 Infant Formula Act (IFA) and subsequent legislation mandate fortification of all IF at specific levels of vitamins and minerals; manufacturers must assure these levels in their products. In order to determine the actual amounts of nutrients in IF and to determine how closely these conform to the IFA and labels amounts, fifteen highly consumed milk- or soy-based infant formulas were sampled nationally at 12 retail locations. These IF were analyzed, and thiamin, vitamins C, A, D, E and K, choline, calcium, iron, and arachidonic, docosohexanoic and linoleic acids values examined. Within analytical uncertainty, all IFs except linoleic acid in one formula met label claim and were within allowed ranges. These results suggest IFs provide nutrition at the level of the label or more. For some vitamins, there was substantially more present in the formula than the label amount, e.g. vitamin C, 25 ± 16 vs. 8 mg per 100 kcal (n = 20), but the variability among brands was high. These data help researchers and consumers understand the nutritional impact of formulas in the diet of infants.