Food Manufacturing
Background
Powdered Infant Formula - Microbiological Issues Background
Please Note: This content is being reviewed and updated. It may not reflect the most current evidence and recommendations.
Importance of Topic to Practice
Millions of infants worldwide are fed powdered infant formula (PIF) every day with good health outcomes (1,2). However, unlike liquid concentrate and ready-to-feed infant formulas, PIF (starter and follow up) is not a commercially sterile product, even when manufactured to meet current microbiological standards. It has been implicated in rare but very serious infant illness when contaminated. While a wide variety of different bacteria have been found in PIF,