Australia's CSIRO, Clover to develop ingredients for infant formulas

Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and local ingredients manufacturer Clover Corp are developing the next generation of nutritional ingredients for infant formulas.

"While natural breast milk is the gold standard, when infant formulas are needed to supplement or replace it, those formulas need to be as close to the real thing as possible," said research team leader, CSIRO's Luz Sanguansri.

"Many of the bioactive components of breast milk are not stable and their inclusion in infant formula is not straight forward."

The research will investigate how nutritional bioactives can be combined in formulas with the natural omega 3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), to improve the ability of infants to absorb bioactive ingredients that can boost their immune systems.

Sanguansri said there were also a number of scientific and technical hurdles to overcome before DHA and bioactives can be added to infant formulas.

"While natural breast milk is the gold standard, when infant formulas are needed to supplement or replace it, those formulas need to be as close to the real thing as possible."

"For example, DHA is complex, fragile and is only found in significant amounts in a few foods so, we need to be able to protect, stabiliz and deliver the DHA."

"We need to protect the bioactives of interest during the manufacture of the ingredient powder by Clover Corporation and during the manufacture of the infant formula by the many major global manufacturers they supply. It needs to remain stable from the time it's manufactured, right up until it's prepared in the home."

"Finally we need to be sure that tese bioactives reach the right part of the infant's digestive tract, so that benefits for development and immune function are maximized."