Arla Foods Ingredients Staging milk protein fractions for baby formula

Built around Arla Foods Ingredients’ Lacprodan portfolio of protein ingredients, Staging is an improved approach to infant formula designed to reflect the fact that the composition of breast milk changes significantly during lactation.

At present, formula-fed babies’ diets do not take account of this, and they are usually given a ‘static’ diet during their first six months. However, Arla Foods Ingredients has identified that the protein content of breast milk is dynamic and changes constantly during this period.

The company has developed blends of specialised milk protein fractions that will help manufacturers create formulas that mimic the changing nutritional profile of milk more closely during this time in a baby’s development.

At the centre of the Staging concept is a range of Lacprodan milk protein fractions which can be blended in varying proportions to create staged infant formulas that mimic the nutritional profile of breast milk more closely.

Extracted from high-quality whey proteins, Lacprodan ingredients are claimed to provide a suitable amino acid profile to meet the needs of developing infants. This means formula manufacturers can reduce the overall quantity of protein in their products to levels closer to those found in breast milk, but still provide all the nutrients formula-fed infants need to develop healthily and grow at a similar rate to breast-fed infants.