Children's Formula Milk Is No Longer Evaluated from Nutrition Only, Milk Composition Follows the Spotlight

JAKARTA - Children's nutritional needs are one of the important aspects that need to be considered from an early age because it has a major impact on the growth and development process.

Each growth phase requires different nutritional intake, so parents need to ensure that children get a balanced nutritional intake according to their age so that growth and development can take place optimally.

Referring to the 2019 Nutritional Adequacy (AKG) from the Indonesian Ministry of Health, children's nutritional fulfillment begins with exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life.

After that, the child's nutritional needs are continued through the provision of Complementary Feeding (MPASI) which is able to meet the energy and nutrient needs that continue to increase along with growth.

Breast milk is known to have various important ingredients that support baby development. However, under certain conditions, not all mothers can provide optimal breast milk due to various factors, both health and other conditions.

In this situation, alternative nutrition such as formula milk can be given according to the recommendations of health workers and the needs of children.

Now, discussions about children's nutrition are no longer focused solely on additional nutritional content, but also begin to highlight the quality of raw materials, milk sources, and processing processes used in children's nutrition products.

Professor of Nutritional Sciences at IPB University, Prof. Dr. Rimbawan, said that children's nutritional needs need to pay attention to the quality of intake according to the stages of growth.

"Each growth phase has different nutritional needs. Therefore, it is not only important the amount of intake, but also the quality, balance, and consistency of the provision of nutrients from an early age according to the Balanced Nutrition Guidelines," said Prof. Dr. Rimbawan.

The development of children's nutrition innovation in various countries also encourages increased attention to the quality of milk as the main raw material. One aspect that has begun to be widely observed is the fat profile of milk and its influence on the comfort of the child's digestive system.

In Australia and New Zealand, for example, Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has established special standards related to baby formulas, ranging from protein sources, nutrient composition, to product labeling rules.

This shows that the quality of raw materials and formulations is an important part of the supervision of children's nutritional products. Similar trends are also developing in a number of other countries, including China, which has begun to pay attention to the transparency of milk sources and the characteristics of raw materials in product development.

Prof. Dr. Rimbawan added that the quality of nutrient sources is one of the important factors in supporting children's growth.

: In the perspective of nutrition, the quality of the source of nutrients is an aspect that needs to be considered. Fresh milk as the main raw material naturally contains protein, fat, calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin B2 which play a role in helping to meet the nutritional needs of children over one year of age according to their growth and development stages," he added.

Until now, cow's milk is known as one of the sources of important nutrients for children. However, as food and nutrition science develops, attention to milk is now not only limited as a general raw material, but also on the quality of the milk source and the character of its nutritional content in supporting innovation of children's nutrition products.

The presence of innovation in milk formula based on fresh milk is expected to expand parents' understanding of the importance of children's nutritional quality.