Submitted to Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ)

Dietitians Australia has responded to a call for comment on an application to allow the combination of oligosaccharides in infant formula products.

Formula milk marketing, not the product itself, disrupts informed decision-making and undermines breastfeeding and child health. Health professionals, including dietitians and their associations should fulfil their responsibilities to insist on practices that prioritize children and families over commercial interests.

Often formula milks are positioned as close to, equivalent and sometimes superior to breast milk, presenting incomplete scientific evidence and inferring unsupported health outcomes. Ingredients, such as human milk oligosaccharides and docosahexaenoic acid, are advertised as “informed” or “derived” from breast milk and linked to child developmental outcomes. Examination of scientific evidence does not support the validity of these claims.

Dietitians Australia recommends the application to amend the FSANZ Code to permit 2'-fucosyllactose (2ʹ-FL) to be added to infant formula products (IFP) in combination with galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) and/or inulin-type fructans (ITF) be declined.

For more, download our full submission.