Why is rocket fuel in baby formula? (Contemporary Pediatrics)

http://thehealthyclub.blogspot.com/

 

I don't see the answer to that question in this article.  How does rocket fuel get into formula?  Into the water?  I understand how the Pharma Rx's get in the water...but not rocket fuel.  Gosh, what else is in there?  How can we get CLEAN water in our homes?  I wonder if those fancy water filtration systems filter out Rx's, fuel and all the other wonderful unknown ingredients!

 

XOXO

 

 

Why is rocket fuel in baby formula?

Apr 10, 2009 By: Stephanie Skernivitz Contemporary Pediatrics

All fifteen brands of powdered infant formula in a sample testing was found to contain the chemical perchlorate, which has been found in rocket fuel since the 1940s.

The investigators shared their findings online in the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology.The highest levels of the chemical (5.05 mcg/L) were found in a cow's milk-based formula sample, report the team of government scientists.

The Environmental Protection Agency's reference dose is 15 mcg/L of perchlorate in drinking water. All formulas' levels were significantly below that mark. The reference dose, if exposed to it daily and orally, is said to be harmless during a lifetime, even for newborns and fetuses.

Yet some critics contend that because the powdered formulas are combined with water, which both contain perchlorate, it would increase risk of exposing the infant population to more of the chemical.

Testing hypothetical models of daily exposure to perchlorate in infants, researchers showed that more than half (54%) would extend beyond the reference dose, assuming that water with as little as 4 mcg/L of perchlorate was used to mix the formula.

In a statement, researchers noted, "Further work is needed to clarify both the complex interrelationships among the thyroid, perchlorate, and iodide, as well as any potential public health risk with exceeding the perchlorate reference dose."

Perchlorate is a chemical also used in road flares and fireworks, and also medically to treat some thyroid conditions. It has been discovered in 5.4% of U.S. utilities in 26 states and two territories. Its effect on the body is that it blocks the transport of iodine into the thyroid. It may interrupt the production of thyroid hormone, which would slow fetal and infant brain development.

Yet, several studies were unable to show a relationship between perchlorate-contaminated water and neonatal thyroid function or fetal growth.

In January, the EPA released a perchlorate health advisory, seeking a new evaluation of the chemical by the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences.

There is no FDA guidance on changing the diet to limit exposure to perchlorate. However in regions where the chemical concentration in water is higher, FDA recommends mixing the product with bottled water. Currently, less than 1% of water supply systems surveyed had levels this high.

For the study, researchers evaluated three samples each from 15 brands of powdered formula, including those based on cow's milk, soy products, and synthetic amino acids (elemental formula). Perchlorate was found in each sample.

At-risk infants, according to 48 possible exposure situations, would be 1- and 6-month-old infants in the 10th, 50th, or 90th percentiles of weight (six scenarios). The models assumed the formula was based on cow's milk with lactose and was mixed with perchlorate-free water.

"The findings of these studies are somewhat reassuring, although higher iodine intake in the population may have reduced perchlorate-mediated inhibition of iodide transport," researchers said in a statement. "This would likely lessen the possibility of perchlorate-induced thyroid dysfunction. However, the complex relationships among iodine, perchlorate, and their effects on thyroid hormone production are still being elucidated."