Burrell And Exley 2010 — Aluminium In Infant Formulas
Summary
This study measured aluminum in 15 infant formula products, including ready-made liquids, cow-milk-based powders, and one soy-based powder. It is useful for Category 1 because it directly compares powdered, ready-to-drink, and soy-based infant formula formats.
Key numbers
- Ready-made formula Al concentrations ranged from about 176 to 700 ug/L.
- Powdered formula Al concentrations ranged from about 2.4 to 4.3 ug/g as powder.
- The soy-based powder had the highest powder value reported in the abstract, 4.3 ug/g, equivalent to 629 ug/L when prepared according to manufacturer directions.
- Estimated daily Al intake for a 6-month-old using manufacturer feeding directions ranged from about 200 to 600 ug Al/day.
Category 1 concentration rows
These rows summarize the source at product-format level rather than ranking the named commercial products. The paper reports brand-level values, but public product pages use the data as occurrence evidence for formula format and ingredient platform.
| Source table | Category 1 fit | N products | Basis | Al mean / range | Max / p100 in source scope | Row-fit note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Table 1 ready-made milks | infant-formula-rtf-liquid-non-soy | 8 | ready-made liquid formula | product means 175.5 to 700.4 ug/L | 700.4 ug/L mean; 863.0 ug/L replicate maximum | Ready-made products are not soy-based in the pasted source text; includes growing-up milk and preterm formula. |
| Table 2 non-soy powders | infant-formula-powder-non-soy | 7 | powder converted by manufacturer instructions | prepared estimates 333.3 to 592.4 ug/L | 592.4 ug/L prepared estimate; 10.8 ug/g powder replicate maximum | Powder products are formula-format evidence but not p90; includes first, follow-on, and good-night products. |
| Table 2 soy powder | infant-formula-powder-soy-based | 1 | powder converted by manufacturer instructions | 4.3 ug/g powder; 629.0 ug/L prepared estimate | 629.0 ug/L prepared estimate; 6.0 ug/g powder replicate maximum | Direct soy-powder evidence, but N=1 and not a distribution. |
| Table 3 daily intake | Formula exposure context | 15 | manufacturer feeding volumes | 88 to 592 ug Al/day across listed products and ages | 592 ug Al/day | Exposure estimate, not product-concentration evidence. |
Ingredient and process signals
The paper identifies cow-milk-based formulas, soy-based formula, product powders, ready-made liquid formats, and possible contamination from individual constituents, processing equipment, storage, and packaging. It specifically suggests the high soy-based formula value may reflect aluminum accumulation in soybean plants and the aluminum tolerance of some soybean cultivars grown on acid soils. soy is therefore a relevant ingredient node, while milk-and-dairy and infant-formula-ingredients are formula-platform nodes rather than claims about raw milk alone.
Methods (brief)
The study prepared ready-made milks and powdered formula samples by microwave digestion with acid/peroxide mixtures and measured aluminum by transversely heated graphite atomizer analysis. Five replicate samples were prepared for each product.
Limitations
The study reports brand-level formula data, but the public wiki should not convert those brand findings into brand rankings. The data should be used as product-format evidence and as a contributor to aggregate Category 1 aluminum distributions. The paper does not provide p10, p50, p90, or p95; it provides means, ranges, replicate maxima, and daily intake estimates.
Implications
Certification: Useful for distinguishing powdered, ready-to-drink, and soy-based formula aluminum evidence.
Courses: Useful example of format-specific contamination differences.
App: Supports formula-format risk estimation where product type is known but brand ranking is outside the wiki scope.
Microbiome: No direct microbiome endpoint.