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Children's Health

FDA warns against feeding infants homemade formula after illnesses

The FDA recently received reports of hospitalized infants who were suffering from low calcium after being fed homemade formula

By Alexandria Hein Fox News
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The Food and Drug Administration warning parents and caregivers against making or feeding infants homemade formula. The agency said it recently received reports of hospitalized infants who were suffering from low calcium after being fed formula that was homemade.

The FDA said it does not recommend that parents and caregivers make infant formulas at home "because of serious health and safety concerns."

The FDA said it does not recommend that parents and caregivers make infant formulas at home "because of serious health and safety concerns." (iStock)

"Infant formula can be the sole source of nutrition for infants and is strictly regulated by the FDA," the agency said in an alert posted Wednesday. "The agency has requirements for certain nutrients in infant formulas, and if the formula does not contain these nutrients at or above the minimum level or within the specified range, the infant formula is adulterated. Homemade infant formula recipes have not been evaluated by the FDA and may lack nutrients vital to an infant’s growth."

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The agency said that while it "generally regulates commercially available infant formulas" it does not recommend that parents and caregivers make infant formulas at home "because of serious health and safety concerns."

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"These problems are very serious, and the consequences range from severe nutritional imbalances to foodborne illnesses, both of which can be life-threatening," the FDA warned. "Because of these severe health concerns, the FDA strongly advises parents and caregivers not to make and feed their infants homemade infant formulas."

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Those who have given homemade formula to infants are advised to contact a health care provider to report symptoms and receive additional care.