Dehydrated Dairy Products: Infant Formulae

Infant formula is a suitable alternative to breast milk when a mother cannot breast-feed or chooses not to breast-feed. Over the years, the chemical composition of human milk has served as a gold standard to formulate as well as regulate nutrients added to infant formulae. This brief review covers several areas of active research in macro- and micronutrients, including ingredients that are not found in human milk but have important functional outcomes in formula-fed infants. In this article, technological advancements in ingredient and formula manufacturing, analytical capabilities to detect nutrients in a complex formula matrix, and sophistication in measurements of preclinical and clinical outcome markers are seen as key to continuing improvement in the infant formula area. The efforts to achieve a formula composition similar to that of human milk and clinical outcomes similar to those in human milk-fed infants will require significant investment in areas such as ingredient sourcing, formula development, establishment of preclinical science, and clinical studies designed to monitor growth, safety, and functional outcomes to realize the potential of new innovations.