Why is baby milk powder? I had never asked myself this question, until a few days ago I participated in a conversation in which they analyzed the leaflets they give in certain health centers to prepare the bottles. And a pediatrician whom I admire deeply pointed out this issue. Adapted milk, even that sold in the richest countries, continues to come in powder form.
Decades ago in Spain there was usually no available pasteurized milk. Powdered milk was cheap, easy to produce, transport and store. But it has been many years since the milk that is usually sold for adults comes in liquid form. So why is baby milk still powdered?
Let's think that the composition of a bottle is never exactly the same as another. There are variations in the composition of water and how exactly we measure it, and also, no matter how careful we put it, in the amount of milk that is put. Even in the maternity hospitals it is found that not even the bottles prepared by the most experienced nurse are exactly the same.
For more serious addition, the guarantee of sterility in milk powder does not exist. He takes great care but we are used to reading news of items that have appeared contaminated, sometimes after some babies have become ill from it.
The only reality is that it is still selling adapted milk powder is that it is much cheaper to produce, package and distribute. If not, our babies would have adapted pasteurized milk, ready for use and guaranteed.
The only reason I can think of is that if baby milk were sold in tetra-brik it would be much more expensive, as liquid adult milk is more expensive than powdered milk. So manufacturers make sure they can sell it at a cheaper price, so as not to lose customers, so that there are no mothers who discard the bottle for that reason. The reason is not that it is safer or of quality. The only reason they sell a product with lower quality is that it is cheaper and so they can sell more.
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