AJ, Kurian C, Chakraborty P, Paari KA. Food additives and contaminants in infant foods: a critical review of their health risk, trends and recent developments

The infant food market has expanded rapidly over the past two decades. However, the industry faces significant challenges, including concerns over the health effects of infant food additives and issues with food safety. However, new evidences suggest that certain food additives, such as those used to preserve and transport infant formula to keep it fresh for longer, should be avoided. Science into the effects of additives on human behavior makes up a sizable sector of the additives market. Problems such as hypernatremic dehydration, malnutrition, and obesity in infants are directly linked to faulty formula production. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has established the toxicity types and chemical tests necessary for evaluating the safety of food additives and GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) compounds. These tests are crucial in understanding the food safety aspects of food additives. The health effects of different types of food additives on infants are discussed in this context. The article gives an outline of various national and global agencies that provides recommendations and standards to gauge the quality of baby food. The immunological responses, allergic reaction pathways and other related health hazards among the infants and young children caused by the food additive are discussed in this article.

Graphical Abstract

Safety evaluation of INFAT® PLUS: Acute, genetic, teratogenic, and subchronic (90-day) toxicity studies

INFAT®PLUS, is a sn-2 palmitate enriched fat ingredient intended for infant formula. A battery of toxicological studies was conducted in accordance with the Food Safety Toxicological Assessment GB-15193 (China), to confirm the safety of INFAT®PLUS. In the acute oral toxicity test, the LD50 of INFAT® PLUS was higher than 53.4 g /kg BW and 26.7 g/kg BW for ICR mice and SD rats, respectively. In a subchronic study, INFAT® PLUS was administered by oral gavage to SD rats with maximal daily dose of 8.90 g/kg BW for 90 days. No treatment-related clinical signs or mortalities were observed. The no-observed-adverse-effect level (NOAEL) was set at 8.90 g/kg BW. Similarly, no evidence of genotoxicity effect was noted in several in vitro and in vivo tests, including bacterial reverse mutation (Ames) test, mouse erythrocyte micronucleus test, and chromosome aberration test of mouse spermatogonia/spermatocyte. For the teratogenic evaluations, no toxicological signs were observed in both pregnant SD rat and fetuses, and the NOAEL of INFAT® PLUS was determined to be 8.90 g/kg BW. Based on the obtained results we concluded that INFAT® PLUS was found non-toxic under the experimental conditions, and the totality of the safety data supports its use for infant nutrition.

Ecotoxicological Assessment of Heavy Metal and Its Biochemical Effect in Fishes

Level of toxic heavy metal concentration like lead (Pb), chromium (Cr), cadmium (Cd), iron (Fe), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), and nickel (Ni) in thirty-six soft and hard organs and their impact on lipid profile of Hypophthalmichthys molitrix and Catla catla fish species inhibiting in Tanda Dam reservoir were investigated. The heavy metal concentrations in water, sediment, and fish of the different regions in the reservoir were determined with atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Lipid profile was carried out by AOAC official methods. The results showed that Pb was dominant among all the heavy metals in six organs, and its maximum concentration of Pb (22.5 mg kg-1 and 32.9 mg kg-1) was observed in scales in Hypophthalmichthys molitrix and tail of Catla catla, respectively. The maximum concentrations of Cd were observed in the head, scales, fins, and gills of Catla catla. The bioaccumulation of heavy metals was significantly different at (p ≤ 0.01) within the organs and between the fish species. The lipid concentration was minimum in those organs where the concentrations of heavy metals were maximum. It is clear from the findings that heavy metal accumulation reduces the lipid content of fish. It is inevitable to monitor the Tanda Dam reservoir to safeguard human health.

A safety evaluation of mixed human milk oligosaccharides in neonatal farm piglets

Human Milk Oligosaccharides (HMOs) are the third most abundant, solid component of human milk after lactose and fat. As novel processes are developed to cost-effectively produce commercial volumes of these oligosaccharides, they are becoming more common components of infant formulas worldwide. The study evaluated the safety of a novel mixture of HMOs in a neonatal piglet model with the objective of identifying potential effects during the sensitive, preweaning developmental stage of life. The mixture of HMOs (HMO MIX 1) was composed of 2′-fucosyllactose (2′-FL), 3-fucosyllactose (3-FL), lacto-N-tetraose (LNT), 3′-sialyllactose (3′-SL), and 6′-sialyllactose (6′-SL), and was administered to 2-day old piglets at either 5.75 or 8.0 g/L for a period of 21 days. Piglets in the 5.75 and 8.0 g/L HMO MIX 1 dosing groups did not exhibit differences in body weight, food consumption, or feed efficiency. Analysis of clinical chemistry parameters on Study Day 7 and Study Day 21 did not demonstrate any effects that could be attributed to HMO MIX 1, nor were there any findings in organ weight, macroscopic, or microscopic inspection of tissues that could be attributed to this oligosaccharide blend. Therefore, since administration of HMO MIX 1 in a liquid diet up to 8.0 g/L resulted in no toxicologically-relevant effects in comparison with animals fed a control diet, this study supports the safety of this ingredient for addition to infant formula products.

Natural Compounds With Antibacterial Activity Against Cronobacter spp. in Powdered Infant Formula: A Review

Bacteria from the genus Cronobacter are opportunistic foodborne pathogens capable of causing severe infections in neonates, the elderly and immunocompromised adults. The majority of neonatal infections have been linked epidemiologically to dehydrated powdered infant formulas (PIFs), the majority of which are manufactured using processes that do not ensure commercial sterility. Unfortunately, the osmotolerance, desiccation resistance, mild thermotolerance and wide-ranging minimum, optimum and maximum growth temperatures of Cronobacter spp. are conducive to survival and/or growth during the processing, reconstitution and storage of reconstituted PIFs. Consequently, considerable research has been directed at the development of alternative strategies for the control of Cronobacter spp. in PIFs, including approaches that employ antimicrobial compounds derived from natural sources. The latter include a range of phytochemicals ranging from crude extracts or essential oils derived from various plants (e.g., thyme, cinnamon, clove, marjoram, cumin, mint, fennel), to complex polyphenolic extracts (e.g., muscadine seed, pomegranate peel, olive oil, and cocoa powder extracts), purified simple phenolic compounds (e.g., carvacrol, citral, thymol, eugenol, diacetyl, vanillin, cinnamic acid, trans-cinnamaldehyde, ferulic acid), and medium chain fatty acids (monocaprylin, caprylic acid). Antimicrobials derived from microbial sources (e.g., nisin, other antibacterial peptides, organic acids, coenzyme Q0) and animal sources (e.g., chitosan, lactoferrin, antibacterial peptides from milk) have also been shown to exhibit antibacterial activity against the species. The selection of antimicrobials for the control of Cronobacter spp. requires an understanding of activity at different temperatures, knowledge about their mode of action, and careful consideration for toxicological and nutritional effects on neonates. Consequently, the purpose of the present review is to provide a comprehensive summary of currently available data pertaining to the antibacterial effects of natural antimicrobial compounds against Cronobacter spp. with a view to provide information needed to inform the selection of compounds suitable for control of the pathogen during the manufacture or preparation of PIFs by end users.