Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro. D-CT, has sent a letter to the Food and Drug Administration’s Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods Jim Jones urging him to increase public awareness of the benefits of human donor milk and potential benefits of human milk-derived human milk fortifier for Very Low Birth Weight infants.
DeLauro is the co-chair of both the Baby Caucus and the Food Safety Caucus of Congress. She is a recognized leader in fighting to improve and expand federal support for child nutrition and for modernizing our food safety system.
Specifically, the lawmaker noted the increase in the litigation connecting traditional cow’s milk-derived fortifier and necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in certain infant formula brands.
“FDA is responsible for ensuring the quality and safety of infant formula products. Fortifiers for premature infants are regulated by the FDA as ‘Exempt Infant Formulas,’ and explicitly manufactured and marketed for this population,” DeLauro wrote. “Therefore, FDA must be more actively working to inform medical providers and parents about the suspected limitations of cow’s milk-based infant formula and fortifiers for premature infants in comparison with other feeding options, including donor human milk and human milk-derived human milk fortifiers.”
NEC is a severe gastrointestinal disease primarily affecting premature and very low birth weight (VLBW) infants. It can cause inflammation and bacterial invasion of the intestine, leading to tissue death and, in severe cases, can be fatal. Studies show that premature infants fed cow’s milk-based formula are at significantly higher risk of developing NEC than those fed human milk or human milk-derived fortifiers.
DeLauro’s letter can be read here.
DeLauro believes that the U.S. should have one agency assigned the responsibility for food safety rather than the 15 different agencies that claim different parts of our food system. She also fights against special interests, like tobacco and e-cigarettes, that seek to skirt public health and safety rules.
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