Even among some in the “fed is best” camp, there’s often a wariness of the “chemicals” in infant formula. Like “WTF is an Oligosaccharide? And I know it says there’s less than 2% of it but should I worry about Schzochytrum SP. Oil?”
It’s no wonder some parents are opting for European baby formula: we hear it has way fewer “dangerous additives” than what we have here in the U.S. In fact, a recent post from a Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fan account —featuring a side-by-side image of a baby with a bottle and the smiling politician with the question “Do you support RFK Jr. removing high-fructose corn syrup from baby formula?” — recently gained some traction on Instagram and came to the attention of registered dietician nutritionist (RDN) Jessica Knurick.
Knurick, who posts on TikTok as “Dr. Jess” (she has a PhD in nutrition so it’s not a disingenuous title), often talks about nutritional misinformation and the “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) movement, which she categorizes as being full of “grifters.”
She went on to share some comments from the original post, which ranged from “Who allowed it in the first place? Ban it in the US!” to “Please ban formula all together! Breastfeeding for the win!” (As you’ve probably already guessed, this last one was written in all caps.)
“Lots of people are revved up and ready to go,” she says before continuing. “There’s only one problem:
“Not a single infant formula in the entire United States includes high-fructose corn syrup.”
“High fructose corn syrup is over 50% fructose as a sugar,” Knurick continues. “The other component is glucose, another simple sugar. “Infants do not tolerate fructose well, they don’t metabolize it well, and it’s not found in a high proportion in breast milk. And so because of those reasons, it’s not used in a single infant formula. They just literally made that up.”
But look at any number of infant formulas, particularly those marketed as “gentle,” and you’ll find “corn syrup solids” on the label. Sometimes even as the first ingredient. No one is gaslighting you, but the confusion is understandable. Please note that “high-fructose” is nowhere to be found. That’s not just a sleazy loophole: and that little modifier makes a huge difference, chemically.
High Fructose Corn Syrup ≠ Corn Syrup
High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is derived from corn syrup. But whereas corn syrup is simply glucose extracted from corn and then made into a syrup by using boiling water, HFCS is treated with enzymes to break the glucose down into fructose, which is the sweetest of the simple sugars. Depending on how the corn syrup is treated, the ratio of glucose to fructose can change. In the U.S., HFCS usually contains 42% fructose (cereals and baked goods, for example) or 55% fructose (mostly soft drinks).
Whereas glucose is easy for the body to digest, fructose can only be digested through the liver. This is where the “HFCS = bad” rhetoric comes from, and it’s not without merit: digesting too much of this substance can be tough on your body and detrimental to your health. And because HFCS is so pervasive in American food culture, its presence has become a medical concern.
Fortunately, this is not a concern when it comes to baby formula. And since we’ve now learned that small modifying words can make a difference as to a food’s nutrition, it bears mentioning that corn syrup solids are simply dehydrated syrup, which enables it to be added into powdered formula.
But why use corn syrup at all?
Well, it turns out most formulas don’t. At least not as a main ingredient.
Formulas seek to mimic the chemical properties found in breast milk — primarily sugar, amino acids, and fatty acids. Vegetable oils are used to provide fatty acids, and amino acids (the building blocks of protein) can come from a cow’s milk base or from ingredients like soy. To replicate the sugars found in breast milk, formula companies have three monosaccharides (simple sugars) to choose from: fructose, galactose, and glucose.
As previously mentioned, babies do not tolerate fructose well, so that’s out as an option. What about galactose?
Galactose is found in milk (including human milk) and combines with glucose to make lactose. This is the most common sugar you’re probably going to find in infant formula. If the first ingredient is “milk,” lactose is going to be doing a lot of the heavy lifting, calorically speaking. But what about babies who have a lactose intolerance, sensitivity, or allergy? They need a sugar as well, and there’s only one viable option left: glucose.
So how do we go about getting it?
“That glucose has to come from somewhere,” Knurick explains in another video. “So many formulas in the US that need to eliminate or reduce lactose will use corn syrup, because corn syrup is strands of glucose molecules.”
“But isn’t corn syrup banned in European formulas?”
In the EU, it is true that corn syrup and corn syrup solids are banned in infant formula — though, contrary to popular belief, HFCS is not generally banned at all. (You’ll just see it under another name: “isoglucose” or “fructose-glucose syrup (FGS).”
But just like in the U.S., some babies in the E.U., are unable to tolerate lactose well and will need a “gentle” formula. The first ingredient in those? Probably glucose syrup derived from other sources like wheat, rice, or potatoes. Chemically, corn syrup and glucose syrup are basically identical. In fact, in some instances, corn syrup is called glucose syrup.
There’s plenty for new parents to worry about when it comes to their infants, but fortunately, HFCS in your child’s formula just isn’t one of them.
