Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Parents, before buying this stuff, do quick Google search for The Cornucopia Institute's report entitled "Replacing Mother - Imitating Human Breast Milk in the Laboratory" or follow this link: [...] This Happy Bellies rice cereal contains Martek Corporation's laboratory-produced oils containing DHA and ARA. As we all know by now, DHA and ARA are considered important nutrients for rapidly developing infants. But laboratory-produced DHASCO and ARASCO (Martek's names for their proprietary oils) are materially different from the fats found in a mother's breast milk. Martek's products are extracted from fermented algae and fungus, with the use of the synthetic solvent hexane, a neurotoxic chemical. They contain only 40 to 50% DHA and ARA, with the balance being sunflower oil, diglycerides, and nonsaponifiable materials. These components are not found in human breast milk, and the triglycerides carrying DHA and ARA are not identical to those found in human breast milk, and have never been part of the diet for human infants. Most frighteningly, neurotoxic chemicals -- which are NOT organic in any way -- are used to manufacture these oils. These oils are not organic, are not regulated or approved by the USDA or FDA, and are added in violation of federal organic regulation. The authors of the report investigated how a toxic chemical is used as processing agents in the manufacturing process, the inadequate testing for safety, and most importantly, how some infants are experiencing serious adverse reactions from consuming formula and foods supplemented with these oils. "This report presents a disturbing look at the addition of novel ingredients into infant formula," says Marsha Walker, Executive Director of the National Alliance for Breastfeeding Advocacy. "The FDA has received scores of reports on the adverse effects of these ingredients, but, to date, the public's only access to these is through Cornucopia's Freedom of Information Act request. This report will help alert the health care community and federal agencies to some of the adverse effects of added DHA and ARA in infant formulas." The full report can be viewed on The Cornucopia Institute's web page. [...]