Published September 2020
Most infant formulas on the market today contain the lipid DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), which is an essential omega-3 fatty acid for brain and eye development. In late 2019, Enfamil® created a national #RaisetheDHA campaign to highlight that their products had the expert recommended amount.
You and your patients’ families may be wondering: How much DHA is the right amount? Do some brands not have enough?
Expert-Recommended Amounts
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends DHA should account for 0.32% of total fatty acids in infant formula.2 Enfamil’s #RaiseTheDHA campaign suggests Similac® falls below the expert guidelines, citing its products only include 0.15% DHA—or half the amount included in Enfamil® (.32% of DHA).1
Store brand infant formulas compare nutritionally to national brand on ingredients and their level of DHA
Store brand infant formulas contain the latest innovations in infant nutrition. These include ingredients that are not required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration but are present in formulas because they occur naturally in breast milk. These innovations—which are found in nationally advertised formulas (Enfamil® and Similac®) and store brand formulas—include DHA, ARA, choline, lutein, nucleotides, and prebiotics and probiotics.
Perrigo provides nutritionally comparable store brand infant formula products with the same levels (0.32% of fatty acids) of DHA:
All three of these formulas compare to the nutrition of Enfamil Premium® Infant, Enfamil Premium® Gentlease®, and Enfamil A.R.®, and have the same expert-recommended amount of DHA as Enfamil®.
Formula-Feeding Parents Will Appreciate the Price of Store Brand Formulas
Perrigo supports bringing the best infant-feeding options to families, which is why we partner with retail, grocery, and drug stores nationwide to provide the best value for complete nutrition. Store brand formulas meet the same expert-recommended amounts of DHA and typically cost up to 50% less versus Enfamil® and Similac®. These savings can add up to $900 a year.3
Tools You Can Use
When breastfeeding isn’t an option or a parent needs to use formula as a supplement to feed their baby, help them understand the facts about DHA and store brand formula.
You can use these tools to help parents make informed decisions:
1Enfamil Press Release: Enfamil's New Campaign Challenges Other Formula Makers to #RaiseTheDHA. PR Newswire. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/enfamils-new-campaign-challenges-other-formula-makers-to-raisethedha-300952586.html. Published: November 6, 2019. Accessed: May 18, 2020. 2World Health Organization. Interim Summary of Conclusions and Dietary Recommendations on Total Fat & Fatty Acids. https://www.who.int/nutrition/topics/FFA_summary_rec_conclusion.pdf. Accessed: May 18, 2020. 3Calculations based on April 2020 IRi Market Advantage annual retail sales data of national brand infant formula powder compared to store brand infant formula powder cost per pound based on an average weekly usage of 1.5 pounds of powder.
While we don’t flood your office with samples, we can help patients try store brand for free … you can request a rebate kit for your practice, which includes important product information for you, and 50 rebate tear-sheets worth up to $20 each to hand to your patients. This helps them get started experiencing complete nutrition with everyday savings provided by store brand infant formula.
1Reflects an average consumption of 1.5lbs powder per week in the first year. Pricing, reconstitution rates and infant formula consumption may vary. Based on Circana sales data April 2023.