Overreacting?

Over the past week, I've found myself getting Mommy mad again. You may have heard on the news that traces of melamine have been found in a few U.S. manufactured infant formulas. It is the same toxic chemical that was found in Chinese formula and has caused serious kidney damage to hundreds of thousands of Chinese infants. When the chemical was found in Chinese formula, the FDA stated that there were no known safe levels of melamine in foods consumed by infants. After finding the chemical in U.S. infant formula, they suddenly decided that the levels found were low enough not to pose a risk. Uhhhhmmm, what????

At first, I swallowed this spoon fed, strategic message and moved on with feeding Alexa her Similac, one of the contaminated formulas. But, I couldn't get it to sit well with me. So, I started poking around to learn more. From research, I've found that melamine is a synthetic chemical product that forms hard resins when combined with formaldehyde. It is used in a wide range of products such as cooking utensils, plates, industrial coatings, paper and paperboard, and flame retardant.

Marcel Casavant, MD, chief of clinical pharmacology/toxicology at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, medical director of The Central Ohio Poison Center, and director of the Central Ohio Lead Clinic shared in the article I've linked to above that he "can't guarantee safety at 0.14 parts per million (because) we really don't have a lot of experience and data with this poison in infant formula."

After reading this article and a few others, I formed my own arguments that led me to the clear decision to change Alexa's formula immediately to a non-mainstream formula:

-I don't believe the FDA really has the option to recall these formulas. Since the three formulas that tested positive are made by the top three manufacturers in our country, potentially 90% of all U.S. formula could be contaminated. If you pull 90% of the formula off the shelves, there wouldn't be enough to feed the number of infants in our country. Starvation is surely viewed as a bigger issue than contamination.

-There is speculation that the contamination is coming from melamine infected feed being given to the cows who produce the milk that forms the condensed milk powder used to create formulas. This theory is supported by the fact that contamination is also showing up in other foods made from milk powders, such as chocolate. There is also a fairly large chocolate recall that has been less publicized.

-We know for sure that this chemical IS toxic to infants. That link has been clearly made in China. What we are debating is how much of the chemical is toxic.

-If we can't agree that the level of contamination is immediately dangerous, we can certainly speculate that smaller exposure over a longer period of time could lead to toxic build-up in the body - especially since melamine attacks the kidneys. And if we can't agree it may be dangerous over the course of long term exposure, we must agree that exposure does not add to an infant's health.

Those thoughts led me to realize that I will not allow my child to be a lab rat. I did extensive research on alternative formulas and found one that makes me feel much more comfortable. It is pictured at the top of this post. It has been tested for melamine and is not contaminated. It meets FDA and Infant Formula Act standards and is certified USDA organic. The nutrition content is very similar to Similac Advance. I don't think price would have influenced a major decision like this, but it is actually a bit less in cost than Similac.

So, we gave our little beauty her first bottle tonight and she chugged it faster than any other bottle she's eaten recently. One time can be a fluke, so I'm hoping she'll be as receptive tomorrow.

Thank you for letting me step on my soap box and share my thoughts and theories.