Safefood urges parents and careers to follow ‘30 minute’ rule Safefood and the Health Service Executive (HSE) have launched a new publication on how to prepare a baby’s bottle feed safely. Entitled ‘How to prepare your baby’s bottle feed’, the resource consists of a booklet and practical 10-step poster.
Dr. Cliodhna Foley-Nolan, Director, Human Health & Nutrition, safefood said, “As powdered infant formula is not a sterile product, it has the potential to cause illness if not prepared properly. In rare circumstances, certain harmful bacteria such as E.sakazakii have been associated with it. However water with a temperature above 70°C will kill E.sakazakii and any other bacteria like Salmonella that may be present”.
But because adding just-boiled water to formula can lead to a loss of some of the nutrients in the formula, Dr. Foley-Nolan recommends using the ‘30 minute’ rule. “This is a very practical rule, whereby the water is boiled and then left for 30 minutes before the powdered infant formula is added, at which point its temperature is no less than 70°C”, she continued. “This is the best way to achieve a balance between killing the harmful bacteria and retaining sufficient amounts of nutrients in the formula”.
Powdered infant formula can contain the bacterium Enterobacter sakazakii (E.sakazakii) and this has been implicated as a rare source of illness in infants, with those under two months most at risk from it. The emergence in recent years of this illness has necessitated new risk assessments conducted jointly between The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO). As a result, the WHO has issued on infant feeding in collaboration with the Food Safety new technical guidance Authority of Ireland (FSAI).
The Safefood/HSE publication is an easy-to-follow, 10-step poster and booklet based on the technical guidance and is aimed at parents and carers who will be making up bottle feeds. It is also hoped that the resource will be used by public health nurses, dietitians working with infants, environmental health officers and those working at pre-schools when discussing bottle feeds with parents.
Dr. Cliodhna Foley-Nolan, Director, Human Health & Nutrition, safefood said, “As powdered infant formula is not a sterile product, it has the potential to cause illness if not prepared properly. In rare circumstances, certain harmful bacteria such as E.sakazakii have been associated with it. However water with a temperature above 70°C will kill E.sakazakii and any other bacteria like Salmonella that may be present”.
But because adding just-boiled water to formula can lead to a loss of some of the nutrients in the formula, Dr. Foley-Nolan recommends using the ‘30 minute’ rule. “This is a very practical rule, whereby the water is boiled and then left for 30 minutes before the powdered infant formula is added, at which point its temperature is no less than 70°C”, she continued. “This is the best way to achieve a balance between killing the harmful bacteria and retaining sufficient amounts of nutrients in the formula”.
Powdered infant formula can contain the bacterium Enterobacter sakazakii (E.sakazakii) and this has been implicated as a rare source of illness in infants, with those under two months most at risk from it. The emergence in recent years of this illness has necessitated new risk assessments conducted jointly between The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO). As a result, the WHO has issued on infant feeding in collaboration with the Food Safety new technical guidance Authority of Ireland (FSAI).
The Safefood/HSE publication is an easy-to-follow, 10-step poster and booklet based on the technical guidance and is aimed at parents and carers who will be making up bottle feeds. It is also hoped that the resource will be used by public health nurses, dietitians working with infants, environmental health officers and those working at pre-schools when discussing bottle feeds with parents.
