New Study Finds More Than Half of Baby Bottles Have Inaccurate Measurements

A new study has found that more than half of the baby bottles available for sale in Australia have inaccurate measurements or no markings at all.

A Western Sydney University study has sparked calls for Australia, and other countries, to introduce and enforce industry standards for bottles to prevent formula-fed babies from becoming ill as they are at risk of malnutrition, dehydration or worse because of these inaccuracies.

More Reading: Where to Buy Baby Formula Online (And Have it Delivered To Your Door)

Adjunct Associate-Professor, Karleen Gribble from the School of Nursing and Midwifery, and her colleagues have discovered that after purchasing the entire range of 91 infant feeding bottles available for sale in Australia, one in five bottles had at least one marking that would fail to meet the requirements of the European standard, which is the only existing standard for bottles in the world.

The researchers said that markings underestimated and overestimated actual volumes by as much as 43 per cent. They also said that two out of five bottles were missing at least one marking for a volume that parents require to measure infant formula.

In total, at least 57 per cent of the bottles had either inaccurate or missing markings.

“We already know that parents and caregivers tend to add more powdered infant formula than is instructed, and the risk of over”concentration is likely to be compounded when bottles over”represent volumes,” Associate Professor Gribble says.

The researchers said that of the bottles examined, 41per cent claimed compliance with the European Standard, 6 per cent with non”existent Australian standards, and 54 per cent bottles had no standard claim.

Associate Professor Gribble said that the inaccuracies have an implication on babies’ health.

“This has implications for infant health, with dehydration a severe risk, and excessive weight gain another issue. The greatest risk is for very small or premature infants who lack the capacity to deal with over”concentration. Over-concentrated infant formula can also result in constipation and exacerbate the symptoms of reflux. On the other side, under”concentrated infant formula could result in poor growth and development for children who aren’t receiving the required nourishment,” she said.

She adds that missing markings are also just as problematic as inaccurate ones because “caregivers may seek to estimate water volume using the available markers. “Infant formula is a special class of food, the composition of which is tightly regulated in order to minimise harm to infants. Formula-fed infants are a vulnerable group and we should all be concerned that poorly manufactured infant feeding bottles are placing them at risk,” Associate Professor Gribble said.

The bottles in the study were manufactured or distributed by companies throughout the world including Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, China, Hungary, Germany, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, UK and the US.

Source: Kidspot.com.au