Is Homemade Formula Safe? Experts Say No

Published September 2020

Economic insecurity puts many parents in a difficult position, where they’re either unable to find a reliable supply of their go-to formula or they can’t afford it. This has fueled a lot of discussions online about homemade formula.

Experts don’t recommend parents make formula at home for many reasons. Parents should know why homemade formula isn’t a good alternative and what they can do if they are struggling with food insecurity.

What Parents Are Seeing

Parents are coming across information about homemade formula on the internet—but it’s not always reliable, accurate, or safe. Many sites discuss using homemade infant formula as all-natural, organic, or less expensive to make. Some suggest homemade formula is better or safer—the way people have done it for decades. Are there are a lot of competing messages out there? You bet.

What the Experts Say

The reality is: Regulators and pediatric experts don’t recommend them. According to the Food and Drug Administration¹ (FDA) and the American Academy of Pediatrics² (AAP), parents shouldn’t use homemade formula.

These are three important reasons not to use homemade formula that you can share with parents:

1. Ingredient Safety: Store brand infant formula meets the same FDA nutritional and quality standards as popular brands like Enfamil^®, Similac^®, and Gerber^®. The only difference is the price.
2. Nutritional Balance: The formula found on the market today contains a very careful balance of ingredients that are vital for infant growth. Too much or not enough of these elements can be hazardous. Plus, ingredients like cow’s milk or soy milk don’t contain enough of the vital nutrients infants need like protein, iron and calcium.
3. Not Backed by Science: While many online sources claim that raw cow and goat milks improve immune or gastrointestinal function, there is currently no scientific evidence backing these claims.³

Safe Solutions

Experts know breastfeeding is the best choice for infant nutrition. When that’s not possible or supplementing is needed, formula manufactured in the U.S. is the way to go. Make sure parents know about the potential issues with homemade formula.

Ensure families are educated about all the safe infant formula options available to them, including store brand. It offers the same nutrition at half the cost of brand name options. Store brand formulas cost between $13 - $15 per can, compared to the national brands that are $21 - $26 per can.⁴

Tools You Can Use

Use these tools to help parents make informed decisions:

• This comprehensive eBook allows new and expecting parents to learn more about formula and feeding in the first years of life.
• This brand comparison tool helps parents find the store brand equivalents of brand name formula.