FSSAI drive puts infant formula food under scanner, doctors advise breastfeeding

After the enforcement drive conducted by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) at private companies found expired infant food products, paediatricians and lactation consultants have warned new parents against feeding formula-based food products to infants.

They stressed that mother’s milk is the only option and in rare cases, Nandini milk or borrowing milk from milk banks at private or government hospitals are alternatives.

Speaking to The Hindu , Hajira Tarannum, IYCF counsellor, paediatrics, and nutritionist at Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health (IGICH), said, “A majority of hospitals promote breastfeeding at the earliest. In very rare cases, if the child is sick or has underlying medical conditions, the mother will not be able to feed milk and doctors advise accordingly. Even in such cases, giving formula milk or food is not advised.”