LONDON, March 31, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- While many top manufacturers in the baby food industry know this about the expiration dates on baby formula, and it is almost a public secret, hardly anyone talks publicly about it. MullerMoo took exception and openly discussed this matter on Facebook, attracting a lot of attention. https://www.facebook.com/MullerMoo-Formula-229686794044362/
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The time between when a product leaves the production facility and the recommended shelf life or expiration date is also known as the "stable period". When infant formula gets close to or passes this period, the nutritional value of the product drops sharply and the quality changes notably. The calculation method for the best before date is 18 to 24 months after production and processing.
Each country has different regulations in terms of expiration dates on infant formula. In some countries regulations state, that the best before date of infant formula is to be calculated using the date of processing as a starting point. But often for the production of infant formula the dry blending process is used. In this case the milk powder, which is used as a base for the infant formula, may have already been stored for an entire year before its second processing.
The reasons why the dry blending process is often used during the production of infant formula are: A. Surplus of milk sources, B. Reduction of production costs, C. Processing factories' long distance to farms and high cost when transporting fresh milk, D. No professional equipment for transporting milk and keeping it chill all along the line, E. Small processing factories do not have the equipment, technology and the environment necessary to directly process fresh milk
Introduction of common production methods:
Currently there are two production methods commonly used for infant formula:
Wet Blending (Spray drying) & Dry Blending:
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Common practice is to purchase the dehydrated milk powder (often marked as whole milk powder or skimmed milk powder in the ingredients list) from the supplier and store it until an order is placed. Only then the milk powder is processed a second time and made into infant formula by adding the necessary nutrients.
MullerMoo is a baby food brand from London, UK with production being done in Kendal, UK.
