STUDIES ON MILK SUBSTITUTESⅠ. AN ECONOMICAL AND NUTRITIONAL EVALUATION OF THE COMMERCIAL MILK SUBSTITUTES / 营养学报

ABSTRACT

A survey has been made during 1953-1955 on the patented milk substitutes including 58 kinds produced by 25 factories in 5 cities-Peking, Tientsin, Shanghai, Wuhan and Canton. Attention was directed to the annual production, the raw material, the formulae and the wholesale and retail prices. Unpatented products have not been included in the present survey. Nutritional composition, growth promoting effect and availability of some nutients have been studied by chemical, physiological, and pathological methods.On the basis that a 5 kilo child requires 500 calories per day, and assuming that he lives solely upon milk substitutes throughout the year, theannual production of the 25 factories in 1954, i.e. 1830 tons, would supply the need of 40,000 babies.Most of the products are made of rice and wheat flour and cane sugar, with the addition of about 5 % each of egg yolk and l or cow's milk powder, 0.7 % calcium lactate and 0.3% salt. Among the 58 kinds, 9 are free from animal protein, and 3 include soybean as the main source of protein.With respect to the dietary allowance of the babies, the majority of these products are deficient in protein, most of them are deficient in phosphorous and all of them are deficient in calcium. The protein is generally 50 % less than the required amount, while calcium and phosphorous are 10-90% below the recommended level. All are deficient in vitamins. The NCaP proportions are not correct in any of the preparations. The protein content of 2 samples containing soybean amounts to 33-37 % which is much too high, particularly when accompanied by faulty ratios of calcium, phosphorous and other nutrients.Samples containing 10 % or less protein (including some of animal origin) and with restricted mineral supply, not only retarded the general growth of the experimental animals but also produced pathological changes in bone and some internal organs. Nevertheless, one of the samples with excessive protein, ample phosphorous but limited calcium promoted good growth in experimental animals. The bone structure of the latter was fairly normal.It is suggested that new and better formulae with high nutritional quality but low cost, such as the one proposed by the authors (to be published) be employed to replace the old ones.