In a reply to Food Safety Authority of Vietnam, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) said aluminum levels found recently in infant formula are safe for consumption as they are within permissible limits.
Earlier, the Vietnam Food Administration (VFA) had received information of traces of aluminum in milk in some leading UK products, and had been quick to contact FSA and the European Food Safety Authority over the matter.
In a reply letter to VFA, FSA said information of high levels of aluminum in Aptamil products made in UK were not from official reports of any health agencies. The presence of aluminum in infant formula was evaluated by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSAO) and the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) when they conducted assessment of the possible risk to human health from the presence of aluminum in food in 2008 and 2012.
The major route of exposure to aluminum for the general population is through food, both as a consequence of the natural occurrence of aluminum in food (e.g. fruit, vegetables, cereals, seeds and meat), and the use of aluminum and aluminum compounds in food processing, packaging and storage, and not least the use of aluminum compounds as food additives, according to EFSA.
Furthermore, the level of aluminum will be higher if children are fed with soy-bean nutrition products, according to JECFA.
The UK’s Ministry of Health announced that all formula products available in the country are safe for babies’ health. Accordingly, there is no need to regulate the limits of aluminum content in food for infant formula.
VFA and the National Institute for Food Control took samples of Aptamil milk originating from England, for testing. Test results showed aluminum levels ranging from 3 to 3.44 mg per kilo.
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