On certain milk containers... What does NOT INTENDED FOR USE AS INFANT FORMULA means?

Question

I've only breast fed up until now and just recently stopped. My daughter Zoe is almost 16 mnts old and is allergic to every kind of milk out there except (blue diamond almond breeze). And silk soy which she doesn't like. After giving her the almond milk I noticed on the container it say Not Intended for use as Infant formula. Does anyone know why? What does that mean? Is it not safe for me to give to her at this age? I would hate to have finally found a type of milk Zoe likes but cannot drink. I do give her other foods that contain calcium but she really likes milk. I wrote to the company but still have not heard any think yet. An answer would greatly be appreciated.

Sincerely LouLou

Thanks for all the answers.. I will call the company tomorrow as well as her Dr. I know she is old enough to drink regular milk now but we do not want to give her any animal milk and I thought Almond would be best to give her and plus she likes it. So since she's past 1 years old I'm assuming it's ok for her to drink it. But the warning kind of scared me.

Answer 1

let me just take a wild guess here but... DONT FEED IT TO INFANTS!

Answer 2

What that means is that almond milk is not formula. Now, unless your daughter develops an allergy to nuts ( and it is very possible given the fact that nuts can cause a reaction easily and that you are sensitizing her to them early ), this is not formula. Infant formula is formulated ( DUH ! ) to be a substitute for breastmilk which would provide all the nutrition a baby needs in the form of carbohydrates, fats and some proteins. Almond milk is just a substitute for people who cannot handle cow's milk. Personally, I don't think it should be called milk, but, simply an almond based drink. I presume that she is also eating solids. At 16 months, she should be grabbing the food from your mouth ! Exclusively breastfeeding ! ? ! Wow ! ! !

Anyway, the standard for introducing nuts is after 1 year old, usually in the ' butter ' format. Crushed or whole nuts after 4 years old due to the choking hazard.

If you are worried about the calcium, try looking up some info on the calcium issue. Recently, there have been studies stating that children today are being overly bombarded with both iron and calcium. The current idea is not to overload the calcium in the diet, but rather to pair the calcium with binders that will help the body to utilize the calcium more efficiently

Good luck

Answer 3

Infant formulas have to meet certain nutrition guidelines to be deemed formula. At 16 months most children no longer need formula and are either weaned or being weaned. Both of my children stopped taking formula at 12 months, as recommended by their pediatrician. I doubt that Almond milk is milk is milk in any form we know. If the child tolerates it, and actually likes it, there should be no reason to stop giving it to her. If she is within proper weight range for her age and family history, there is no reason to give her formula. Take an empty package of the milk with you to her next appointment. This will give the Dr a chance to read the ingredients and decide if it is fit for a child her age. If you want to know before her next visit, call your Dr and ask to speak with a nurse. If they don't know the answer they will ask the Dr for you.

Answer 4

I'm a nutritionist

it is safe for you to give your daughter almond milk, the reason it is not intended for use as infant formula is it is too low in calories to maintain an infants body weight when used as the main source of nutrients

good luck

I also wanted to say to Jennifer Y: Did you know that infant formulas are not FDA- approved? Per the FDA, "The law does not require that FDA approve infant formulas but instead requires companies to provide certain information to FDA before they market new infant formulas. Manufacturers must provide assurances that they are following good manufacturing practices and quality control procedures and that the formula will allow infants to thrive. If such assurances are not provided, FDA will object to the manufacturer's marketing of the formula; however, the manufacturer may market the new infant formula over FDA's objection." in other words formula dosn't have to meet certain standards to be sold...

Answer 5

Zoe is 16 months old...she is not an infant, and can drink milk of any kind.

The reason they put that warning there is for parents who aren't the sharpest tool in the shed. :o)
Parents are told that kids can't have regular milk until after their first year. So they think that they can save $$ and not buy formula and just give thier baby SOY MILK. (because "Hey, it's not cows milk")
Truth be told...infants in their first year NEED Breastmilk...and if not that, then infant formula. That warning is just to keep parents from using Soy milk in place of Breastmilk and formula.

BTW, congrats on your extended nursing! YOU GO GIRL!

Answer 6

I think it just means that that the milk should not be used as a substitute for breastmilk or formula for children under the age of 1. It does not contain the proper mix of nutrients to sustain an infant < 12 months who should get most of his/her nutrition from breastmilk or formula. It should be safe to give as a drink to a 16 mo old, so long as your child is not allergic to almonds.

Answer 7

it means do not use it as a form of food for your infant. when your child is an infant you should feed him formula or breast milk and thats the best form of food. milk does not have all the vitamins and minerals that your infant needs. if she is 16 months old you can give it to her as a drink but make sure you are giving her baby food also. dont just give her the milk as a meal.

Answer 8

Soy milk, almond milk, and rice milk are not meant to be fed to infants. They don't have enough protein, vitamin D, or calcium for developing children.
Believe it or not, some kids are actually developing rickets (a disease which is caused by vitamin D deficiency) because of this.

If your child is allergic to regular milk, please talk to her pediatrician and find out what she/he recommends instead. Giving Zoe 'fake' milk isn't a good idea at this age.

Answer 9

Some milks are too strong for infants and can cause gastric problems,like 2% is not good for children before 1 year.But
homogenized is OK.Maybe the milk you are talking about is not intended for infants because it has no nutrients in it or not enough of what she needs. I have heard of people using carnation milk diluted for infants too. Good luck .
You may need to talk with a nutritionist for the best advice.

Answer 10

It's OK they only thing they talking about is when your baby is a baby 1 month to i would say 11months it needs vitamins and all-thought milk has some it don't have all the vitamin's that growing baby's need. Its not there to scare you, its there so you don't malnutrition your infant like some mothers do, that's a different story!! But there are time's they have to there is a liquid vitamin that you can give your child. so dont be afraid no longer MILK STILL KEEPS YOUR BODY GOOD

Answer 11

The formulas available in the market today are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and created through a very specialized process that cannot be duplicated at home. Goat's milk, rice milk, or almond milks are not safe and are not recommended for infants.