Why Pay More?

When it comes to formula milk, the cheaper options are no less nutritious. We get the lowdown from the experts.

Parents today pay more than two times what they did for infant formula 10 years ago. A 900g tin costs an average of $56, compared with about $25 in 2007.

It is a hefty rise, considering that over the same 10-year period, the cost of fresh milk went up just 6.8 per cent to $2.81 for a 1-litre pack.

Peiru Ng, 30, who is in public relations, spends $240 a month on about four tins of formula for her six-month-old daughter.

She says: “I choose to breastfeed as I’m aware of the advantages. However, I have been supplementing with formula as my supply doesn’t meet her needs fully, especially since I’ve gone back to work.”

Market research firm Euro-monitor reported that formula milk sales were valued at US$47 billion globally in 2015, fuelled mainly by the growing number of women going back to work after giving birth.

Formulas are largely similar

All infant formula sold in Singapore must comply with the requirements of the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority’s Sale of Food Act.

This includes the minimum and maximum nutrient composition in an infant formula, says Natalie Goh, chief dietitian at Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital.

Infants should be given only breast milk in their first six months. After that, complementary foods should be given, in addition to breast milk (or formula, if breast milk is not available).

When your baby is a year old, there is no need for formula milk as whole cow’s milk can be given.

Fresh cow’s milk, or any alternative milk sources, should not be fed during a child’s first year. The essential nutrients in infant formula are protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals such as iron, calcium, phosphorus and zinc.

What manufacturers do is to formulate a substitute that most resembles breast milk, experts say.