formula in the uk vs us

[vintage67]

By the way, I have drank the water in UK, France, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands without a second thought. I didn't have a baby then, but can't imagine worrying about water or formula quality in any of those countries. There were less additives in food there; that is true. But none of those countries has the population that the US has and the demands for supply. When things get mass produced, quality is of course affected in terms of preservatives, etc.

I agree with Andella that the WHO guidelines, even though stated for "all" are going to err on the side of caution for the entire world where water quality can vary widely.

 

[summer rain]

The UK guidelines are not just based on the WHO guidelines alone though, because they are even more stringent than the WHO guidelines, there is an extra guideline in there not to pre-make formula whereas the WHO guidelines allow for this. It was the risk assessment by the UK government in conjunction with formula companies which decided to advise against premaking as well, despite the water here being safe etc. Personally most ladies I know go by the less strict (than UK) WHO guidelines but it is all personal preference xx

 

[davidjoemum]

price darling!im going to Us once a year to see my MIL and when we there im skinned because formula there is in little boxes but cost like twice or more than in Uk

 

[momto4girls]

I've got five children. All were fed formula at some point in there life, some longer than others. My son is currently drinking a bottle prepared in a bottle that hasn't been sanitized since I bought it 6 months ago, with water that was warmed in the microwave (not boiled) that came from my tap. Until I came here to this site, I'd never heard about boiling water. The label on my formula only says not to warm formula in the microwave (says nothing about warming the water being used though), to toss after an hour if its a bottle that has been drank out of, and to toss after 48 hours once prepared (or opened in the ready to feed kind).

 

[readytotry]

It's not about the water, it's about the bacteria already in the powder. Even in the US it says on the can that the contents are not sterile. Bad bacteria, such as salmonella, can get into the powder during the manufacturing process.

It doesn't matter if you have the purest water in the world, of you add it cool to powder that contains salmonella, your baby could get seriously ill.

Heating the water to above 70 degrees centigrade kills the bad bacteria but not the nutrients.

I don't understand why people are so defensive about this. The risk is very, very small. In the UK we have "larger" government so they force formula companies to put the who guidelines on the tin. In the US where the government is smaller they do not interfere in this way. Either way the risk is very small.

 

[deafgal]

that would make sense as I was taught not to eat cookie dough without baking it first. Even if it doesn't contain eggs, the flour may have bacteria

 

[mrs.amillian]

I agree with the PP it is nice to see a healthy debate without it turning into hair-pulling and name calling

Can I ask a bit of a dumb question, it says not to use repeately boiled water, does that mean water just boiled once? Can I boil it twice? I get not to use it if it's been boiled 5 or 6 times.

It just seems wasteful to throw it out and start again if I've allowed it to cool for too long

 

[summer rain]

I have read in some parenting book or booklet somewhere a few years ago the reason they say don't use 'repeatedly boiled water', and this does mean water boiled twice too, though on the odd occasion it is most likely to be harmless; is because the minerals in the water concentrate more with the process of evaporation and condensing that occurs when water is boiled, usually such an effect is negligible but if you're using tap water which already has fairly high concentrations of some minerals; as is the case in some areas of the UK; these levels could potentially get pushed up too high if the water is boiled again. xx

 

[holly2234]

I sterilised for about 9 months and just stopped when i felt like she was going to be ok! I boiled the water for her formula until she was 1 then she switched to a different one (Neocate Active) and it says to make it with cold water. So i just make it with tap water, shake it, microwave it and she drinks it and whatevers left (One sachet makes 10oz) goes in the fridge until later. I suppose that breaks pretty much every rule of formula making in the UK but its similar to what a lot of US ladies do and she has been 100% fine.

 

[summer rain]

With my boys if they needed to have formula over the age of one, I just used regular tap water (or room temp bottle water) as well xx

 

[Duejan2012]

i still cant believe how informative this thread has become. Thank you soo much everyone for puting your imput in on this topic and a BIG THANKS for a nice friendly debate as some of the other ladies have mentioned already!

 

[Saphira]

( Coming from Germany ) On the back of the box on the formula we use stated in the instructions is never to warm bottles in the microwave because it's a scalding hazard. Also, it says to prepare bottles fresh (never store the milk) and to use cooled down boiled water. It should be cooled down to around 50ºc. It used to be quite a pain waiting for the water to cool down so we got probably the most practical device for formula fed babies out there! It's called the Cool Twister. Takes 80 seconds to cool down boiled water to the ideal temperature. Saves so much time waiting for it to cool on its own or setting it in cold water. Plus, Aurora is much more satisfied since when it comes to her hunger she's not willing to be patient one bit!

 

[miel]

so funny because you go to babycenter UK it tell you to sterilize bottles and if you go to babycenter USA tell you just hot soapy water is fine .
i am from france but live in San Francisco for 17 years ( but just move to the UK in December ) anyway in France they sterelize and pretty much follow the same guide line that the UK here ...my mum was horrified to see me just wash the bottles with hot water and use tap water in California ! lol for my first son . We just move here in the UK and castiel was 4 months old and i still do here too .
That people are a little bit paranoiac with the sterelizing and stuff for the first few months i guess its ok ( specially a first time parent ! ) but when they start to put everything in there mouth and play with anything their little fingers can grasp not much you can do about controlling the bacteria around anyway ! adding a older sibling that comes and go from outside and then come and play with his baby brother to the mix = battle lost anyway lol .
Did anyone watch the movie" Babies " ? A look at one year in the life of four babies from around the world, from Mongolia to Namibia to San Francisco to Tokyo.
Very interesting to watch !
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1020938/