Parents who are only starting to research the baby formula market might find themselves overwhelmed. Which brand to choose? Goat milk or cow milk? Is organic the best pick? And finally, are European brands better than US-based? Let’s talk about infant formula from Europe and why American parents are so crazy about it.
Three reasons why they choose infant formula from Europe
1. Biodynamic organic farming
European formula producers take organic to a whole new level. Getting dairy from free-range cows and goats that feed on organic forage only? Of course, but it isn’t enough any longer. Every little thing is taken into account. The soil, the grass, the cows (goats), and farmers who tend to them. This means that:
- they use exclusively natural fertilizers;
- there are no GMOs.
This helps ensure that the end product, the formula you give to your baby, is super clean and all-natural.
Special European certifications of organicity have formulas such as HiPP, Holle formula and Loulouka formula.
2. No quality except top quality
The EU standards for infant formula production are famously stringent. There is a number of ingredients you can come across in baby foods from American brands that are prohibited from being used in European formulas. These include many kinds of added sweeteners (corn or rice syrup, regular sugar, glucose, fructose), for example.
Instead, infant formula from Europe includes healthier sweeteners like lactose (milk sugar). Lactose is the sugar your baby gets with breastmilk. They also use small amounts of maltodextrin. It makes formula taste better and ensures better satiety.
3. Everything for a baby’s comfort
All parents want to make sure that their babies digest their food easily. That there’s no colic or any sign of indigestion like constipation or diarrhea. European formula brands seem to understand that. That’s why they add prebiotics and probiotics to infant foods to ensure that comfort. HiPP Combiotic formulas, for example, include these. This means that your baby sleeps better and is so much calmer. And so are you.
Things you need to know about baby foods from Europe
1. You’ll find that the majority of European formulas come in cardboard boxes rather than cans. This means you might have to transfer the powdered formula to a container with a tight lead once you open the box.
2. Unlike American infant foods, European formulas come in stages:
- Stage 1: 0-6 months old;
- Stage 2: 6-12 months old;
- Stage 3: over 12 months old;
- Stage 4: milks for toddlers.
There are also products marked as “Pre”. They are for prematurely born and low-weight infants.
3. They use a metric system of weight measurement. So odds are you’ll need to do some calculations.
4. It just so happens that many popular European infant formula brands are from Germany or Switzerland. This means that it’s likely their labeling is all in German. Make sure what exactly is written on a package before buying it.
There is no denying that both in Europe and the US requirements for baby foods are quite high. But formula producers in Europe seem to take it to another level. This is why so many parents in Nothern America find the European formula so appealing.
