Watchdog: Organic Baby Formula

Uses Banned Ingredients

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Wisconsin group claims organic baby formula commonly uses ingredients that are prohibited by federal regulations and wants the government to stop the practice.

A similar complaint was filed in 2006 by a Columbus, Ohio, attorney, but the US Agriculture Department dismissed the complaint last year, concluding “the addition of these accessory nutrients is acceptable in organic infant formulations.”

The group making the new complaint, called the Cornucopia Institute, also alleges the ingredients — omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids also known as DHA and ARA, respectively — are linked to side effects in infants such as diarrhea and vomiting.

The manufacturer of the ingredients, Martek Biosciences of Columbia, Md., says there is no evidence that the products lead to the side effects. And it argues that the fatty acids are allowed in organic products.

DHA and ARA are commonly found in infant formula, and are marketed as a way to help promote eye and brain development in infants — another claim that Cornucopia is challenging with a separate complaint to the Federal Trade Commission. Both fatty acids are found naturally in breast milk.

In the organic complaint, filed this week, Cornucopia is asking the Agriculture Department to remove all organic products with the ingredients from store shelves, and prohibit companies from using the ingredients in products labeled as organic.

Cornucopia, a farm policy group based in Cornucopia, Wis., says that DHA and ARA should not be considered organic because they are extracted from algae and fungus using a toxic solvent called hexane. It says that organic regulations ban the use of hexane in processing organic foods and ingredients.

Martek spokeswoman Cassie France-Kelly countered that DHA and ARA are allowed under the regulations as “accessory nutrients.” She also said there is no detectable level of hexane in the ingredients.