Current safety standards in infant nutrition--a European perspective.

Foods intended specifically for infants and young children are considered under European community law and are defined in specific commission directives. In principal, these directives conclude that such foods must be safe, have a special composition, be distinguishable from normal foods, be suitable for fulfilling particular nutritional requirements, and should, when marketed, indicate such suitability. Since infant formulas are intended as the sole source of nutrition during the first months of life, their nutritional adequacy and safety are particularly strictly regulated. The Scientific Committee on Food report from 2003, on which the current commission directive is based, makes clear recommendations on how benefits, suitability, and safety of modifications beyond established standards should be documented and evaluated. These principles resulted in part from a workshop on characterization of infant food modifications in the EU and two position papers by the European Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (ESPGHAN). These papers are reviewed below.