Nutricia baby formula

I was recently shocked to realize that the Nutrilon Royal No. 2 Baby Formula that I was giving to my 7-month-old baby boy, produced by Nutricia Indonesia, contains glucose syrup and a substantial amount of vanilla flavoring. I then discovered that the Nutrilon Royal No. 1 Baby Formula, which I had given to my baby during his first six months, also contains glucose syrup.

Glucose is three to four times sweeter than lactose, the latter which occurs naturally in breast milk, and most standard baby formulae sold in first world markets contain only lactose.

I have tried some of the Number 2 formula myself and it's actually very tasty -- much like a sweet vanilla milkshake. I think most nutritionists and mothers would agree that offering sweet flavoring is highly inappropriate at such a young age - especially in a staple food -- when tastes are forming and when a sweet tooth can preclude an appreciation of healthy food, such as vegetables.

But more disturbing is the fact that the label for the No. 2 formula boasts that it is sucrose-free, which to a lay person implies refined-sugar free, or not sweet, but glucose syrup is listed in fine print as an ingredient.

According to the compositional information given on the can, a full 25 percent of the sugars are non-lactose. The label also makes no mention of the fact that it is vanilla-flavored, but again, vanilla is listed in fine print as an ingredient. It is wholly unacceptable, and arguably illegal (contravening The Indonesian Consumer Protection Law and government regulation PP No. 69/1999 on labeling) that Nutricia should sell such products with both incomplete and dishonest labeling.

On their products, Nutricia promote themselves as being "the trusted baby feeding specialists". It was because of Nutricia's labeling claim that their No. 2 formula is sucrose-free -- which I justifiably interpreted as meaning not sweet -- that I bought it. In this case I wish that I had not trusted them.

MARY PUGH
Jakarta