Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals and Persistent Organic Pollutants in Infant Formulas and Baby Food: Legislation and Risk Assessments

Abstract

Human milk is the healthiest option for newborns, although, under specific circumstances, infant formula is a precious alternative for feeding the baby. Except for the nutritional content, infant formulas and baby food must be pollutant-free. Thus, their composition is controlled by continuous monitoring and regulated by establishing upper limits and guideline values for safe exposure. Legislation differs worldwide, although there are standard policies and strategies for protecting vulnerable infants. This work presents current regulations and directives for restricting endocrine-disrupting chemicals and persistent organic pollutants in infant formulas. Risk assessment studies, which are limited, are necessary to depict exposure variations and assess the health risks for infants from dietary exposure to pollutants.

Marketing and child feeding

“…Another problem, which is very little reported, is the existence of potentially harmful substances (in smaller or larger quantities), such as contaminants and chemical residues, introduced (intentionally or unintentionally) throughout the production chain. 40 Even in relation to the infant formula production process, which has regulations to minimize the risk of contamination, studies indicate that there are flaws so potentially harmful levels have been identified in studies carried out in different countries. 41 , 42 A fact that can generate undesirable results in the composition of infant formulas is the need to undergo several stages of industrial processing, which aim to guarantee aspects related to the safe consumption of the product over time (such as reducing microbiological and chemical contamination), but also related to commercial interests (improving appearance, facilitating transportation and increasing shelf life).…”

“…International agencies that regulate food production are aware of the need to restrict and monitor the levels of chemical contaminants in foods, especially those consumed at the beginning of life, recognizing that there are still flaws in this surveillance and that the capacity to monitor the safety of foods produced in each country may vary depending on the available resources. 40 In 2021, due to alarming news published in the media about the presence of toxic levels of heavy metals in many baby foods, the American Congress launched “The Baby Food Safety Act”, proposing to turn into a Law that control the presence of these metals in food for babies and young children. In 2022, the FDA launched the “Closer to Zero” program aiming, through research, regulation, and consultancy, to reduce the presence of contaminants to close to zero, especially in baby foods; however, to date, little or no involvement has been recorded on the part of the producing industries.…”

Assessing the Risk of Endocrine-disrupting Chemicals in Commercial Baby Formula in Malawi

“…These countries can take advantage of already existing trade cooperation structures to enhance coordinated quality controls perhaps with rapid testing. Policy formulation on control of EDCs would be a helpful step and demonstration of commitment to address this silent pandemic of the new age (Hatzidaki et al, 2023). Parents and caregivers need to be equally vigilant in ensuring the safety of the food given to the babies.…”

“…OCPs like Dieldrin (1,2,3,4,10,10-Hexachloro-6,7-epoxy-1,4,4a,5,6,7,8,8a-octahydro-endo,exo-1,4:5,8dimethanonaphthalene), Heptachlor (1aR,2R,2aS,3S,6R,6aR,7S,7aS)-3,4,5,6,9,9-hexachloro-1a,2,2a,3,6,6a,7,7aoctahydro-2,7:3,6-dimethanonaphtho[2,3-b]oxirene), Chlordane ( 1,2,4,5,6,7,8,8-Octachloro-3a,4,7,7a-tetrahydro-4,7methanoindene), DDT (1,1,1-Trichloro-2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)ethane), 1,1,1-Trichloro-2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)ethane (1,1,1-Trichloro-2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)ethane), Lindane (1α,2β,3β,4α,5α,6β)-1,2,3,4,5,6-Hexachlorocyclohexane) and Gamma-hexachlorocyclohexane (1α,2β,3β,4α,5α,6β)-γ-Hexachlorocyclohexane are harmful to humans, animals, and aquatic life due to their high bioaccumulation and toxicity. Consumption of contaminated baby formulas by the girl child predisposes her to longer menstrual cycles, missed or irregular periods, and abnormal bleeding upon reaching puberty (Encarnação et al, 2019;Predieri & Iughetti, 2022;Hatzidaki et al, 2023;Street et al, 2023). Exposure to biotoxic heavy metals can occur when they leach from printed surfaces or are introduced through manufacturing processes (Jaishankar et al, 2014;McKinlay et al, 2008;Yesildemir & Akdevelioglu, 2021).…”

“…According to the EPA level of concern, a hazard index above 1 shows a higher risk of chronic negative health effects(Hatzidaki et al, 2023;Jaishankar et al, 2014;Street et al, 2018). This entails that babies consuming these formulas may be at risk of EDC-associated neurotoxic effects, reproductive disturbances, altered immune responses, and endocrine disruption.…”