Toddler formula supporting immune system until 3?

[rufalina]

Ugh, you girls have made me face up to the fact that now DS is one and I can ditch the formula... Thanks for the suggestions re probiotics... better check DS diet too...

[Matryoshka]

Okay i've seen the advert up close, and WHILST they are saying "from the age of 1 your toddlers immune system needs supporting" It says in very tiny print (i was literally sitting in from of a 42 inch plasma and still had to squint) "if dietary intake is inadequate"!

MYTH BUSTED!

[MantaRay]

Tan, also remember that your boys have had a great boost to their immune systems with the bfing they have had.

The reason that companies make toddler formulas is to make money, pure and simple. Obviously because it captures the "post-baby formula" market, but actually also to boost their baby formula sales. They are not allowed to advertise baby formulas, but they are allowed to advertise toddler formulas. THey make the tins look the same and advertise the older one, in order to get brand recognition which also sells their baby formulas.

[BellyBelly]

I dont know much about what formula brand it is and what its claims are, but I assume its due to the inclusion of pro-biotics - of which fast tract would be better, its organic, and made from fruit and vegies and have a range of 13 pro-biotics, not one or two strains. Formula could never reproduce white blood cells that comes with breastmilk to help with immunity though... so yes I would be very wary of claims.

[ladybird11]

Great thread ladies - I should also be looking at Fast Tract and taking DD off of toddler formula. Where do I buy Fast Tract from - I've never heard of it until now

Manta - out of interest, why can't forumla companies advertise baby formula? Is it keeping with health notions about breast is best? (regardless of mums unable to b/f for various reasons, like myself ).

[Trillian]

It is illegal to advertise the sale of baby formula in accordance to WHO guidelines I think and yeah, it's basically to make it harder for the companies to market it to mums. There are quite heavy penalties for breeching this law, so if you do see it, report it. If you go to the main site you can find the link to onegroup (who sells it) and go from there.

eta, found it for you https://www.bellybelly.com.au/misc/mivitality-inliven

[Jennifer13]

Leesa, the WHO guidelines on marketing of infant formula stipulate that it cannot be advertised. Formula manufacturers in Australia signed a voluntary compliance code that states they will not advertise infant formula.

Unfortunately, this is somewhat ineffectual with the advertising of the very similar toddler formulas (and has anyone noticed that specials seem to pop up in supermarket catalogues all of the time now?). It's also a bit of a furphy in that there are no penalties if they do break the code anyway (sorry Trillian, didn't mean to disagree - but it's true!). Hence the reason the boundaries are being stretched and tested.

[MantaRay]

Good question Leesa. As the others have said it is based on World Health Organisation guidelines. The reason is that infant nutrition is so critical, the information given to parents about infant nutrition should be accurate. There is a very real concern about commercial organisations giving accurate and unbiased "education" to parents, therefore there is a voluntary code about the marketing of formula for babies 6 months and under. This includes advertising and free samples.

Unfortunately as Jennifer said, the companies don't adhere to it and are constantly breaching the code. And as the panel which monitors it has formula company execs on it, they mostly get away with it. Especially in 3rd world countries where babies are actually dying as a result of their actions

However, they don't openly advertise baby formulas on TV etc (which would be a hugely blatant breach), so use the toddler formula ads.

The code is not aimed to stop mums from using formula or to take away choice from mums. The aim is to protect children by trying to ensure that the information reaching mums is of the best quality.