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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Nutr.
Sec. Nutrition Methodology
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2024.1385496
This article is part of the Research Topic Ensuring Safe Infant Formula and Baby Food View all articles

Variability and error in measurement of infant formula powder and water: an experimental study

Provisionally accepted
Richard R. Rosenkranz Richard R. Rosenkranz *Ana D. Gonzalez-Alvarez Ana D. Gonzalez-Alvarez Chris Acosta Chris Acosta Andrew Hooyman Andrew Hooyman Jose R. Hidalgo Jose R. Hidalgo CindyRomina Ballesteros-Paniagua CindyRomina Ballesteros-Paniagua Sara Rosenkranz Sara Rosenkranz
  • University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Formula feeding is the only viable nutrition alternative for infants 0-6mos who cannot breastfeed. Among the drawbacks of formula feeding, however, is potential dilution or concentration errors in the formula during preparation that may lead to infant health issues. The present study aimed to investigate the accuracy of caregiver measurements as they prepared infant formula under multiple conditions, compared with manufacturer specifications. A diverse sample of caregivers (N = 84) participated in this cross-over experimental study. Participants hand-scooped infant formula powder and poured water to prepare 4oz and 7oz feedings, using both a standardized set of infant formula products and participants' own products. Linear mixed effects models were used to estimate fixed effects of target amount (4oz versus 7oz) and products (participant versus researcher) on mean absolute percent error (MAPE) of measurement. Across all conditions MAPE was significantly greater for measuring powder than for water (9.0% vs. 4.4%; p<0.001) with a combined powder and water MAPE at 13.0%. Greater measurement error was associated with the odd-sized 7oz preparation and participants' own products. We observed considerable variability and substantial error during infant formula preparation, particularly for hand-scooping of powder, which tended toward higher values than the theoretical gold standard.

    Keywords: Infant, formula, feeding, breastfeeding, Bottle Feeding, Over-feeding, Measurement, Home nutrition support

    Received: 23 Feb 2024; Accepted: 29 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Rosenkranz, Gonzalez-Alvarez, Acosta, Hooyman, Hidalgo, Ballesteros-Paniagua and Rosenkranz. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Richard R. Rosenkranz, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, 89154, Nevada, United States

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.