Aluminium levels 'too high' in baby milk
British tests find levels of metal at three times EU standard in big infant formula brands
Scientists in Britain have put infant formula back in the food-safety spotlight after tests showed levels of aluminium three times higher than the EU standard in popular brands such as Cow & Gate and Aptamil.
The findings by Professor Chris Exley and colleagues at Keele University have been rebuffed by Britain's food watchdog, the Food Standards Agency.
But Exley, a world-renowned expert on aluminium, said yesterday: "We're not producing this kind of research to scare anybody. We're doing it because we believe these levels are too high."
We're not producing this kind of research to scare anybody. We're doing it because we believe these levels are too high
Cow & Gate is one of the "big seven" formula brands in Hong Kong, which together account for 90 per cent of the market.
Exley called on the dairy industry to reduce aluminium to an acceptable level until more was known about its effects.
"The cause for concern becomes highlighted even more when you're feeding aluminium to the most vulnerable members of our society and you're feeding them probably the only product that they will eat during the first few months of their lives," said Exley, who has a PhD in the ecotoxicology of aluminium.
The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department said its food tests had found the general population was unlikely to experience any major undesirable health effects from aluminium. But it conceded no infant formula had been tested for aluminium in three years.