Earth's Best Organic

To be honest, I have never written a review, not matter how good or bad a product I received was. I never had the time and never bothered. Today, I write my very first review of a product that I have been feeding my precious son since birth. He is now 2 years 4 months. I could never breastfeed him exclusively due to bone density loss and I did massive amounts of research and tried out tons of different brands before deciding on this organic formula from Earth's Best and since then, even though he is now a toddler, I still use the Earth's Best infant formula and supplement with other child vitamins.

I was trying to re-order again in bulk from Amazon when I noticed for the first time the controversy over DHA/ARA extraction by the use of toxic hexane of which Hain Celestial which manufactures Earth's Best is guilty of. To understand my utter complete fury, you must know that I live in Singapore and I quite literally pay international shipping for every can of this formula (and wade through customs declarations, tests and tax levies) to bring this milk to my son. In Singapore, this can of milk is also available but in highly limited quantities and even more princely prices (yes, even after the tax, customs and shipping, it still costs less than US$68 which is the going price per can here). Calls to Hain Celestial customer service drove me further up the wall when first, a lady said the hexane was only in trace amounts and less than what the FDA approved. Then, reaching another lady an hour later, the story was different. She said that the hexane solvent method was the only method approved by the FDA to extract the DHA/ARA from non-toxic algae and soil fungus. A third occasion and Hain's customer service informed me that there should be no hexane detected in the product but on further probing admitted that she was not aware if the formula had undergone independent third party tests.

To me, this is crazy. The formula was marketed as a pure organic product and we pay premium prices (especially me!) for a premium product. To find that that they have taken such short cuts is completely unacceptable and the worst thing is that, it turns out that most of the other organic formula companies do this exact irresponsible thing and keep quiet about it. The only company that does not is Baby's Only it uses a water based process to extract their DHA/ARA from eggs(compare this to Hain's claim that the hexane method is the only one approved by FDA and one wonders why Baby's Only hasn't been hauled up by the FDA yet). My son is going on that pronto once I can get a shipment to Singapore. Unfortunately, Baby's Only is not available in Singapore (not even at princely prices) and my son is going to have to continue ingesting his Earth's Best formula in the interim.

Although any mom would prefer to feed their baby breast milk, there are circumstances that do not allow everyone to do so. I am stuck in that boat. So, I went on a quest to find the next best thing, organic formula. My son has been on Earth's Best formula since he was one week old and has no problems at all.

Here is what I LIKE about Earth's Best:

ORGANIC. I am very conscious about what I put in my own body so I wouldn't not have it any other way for my son. The use of pesticides and genetically modified ingredients is a terrifying concept to me. EB contains no growth hormones, antibiotics, steroids or potentially harmful pesticides or herbicides.

EASY TO DIGEST. My son has no fussiness or issues with this formula. He's happy and content and has had no issues with gas or spitting up due to the formula. My son was a very colicky baby but we had tested out a few formulas before concluding that it was definitely not the EB causing his fussiness.

AFFORDBILITY. Due to the recent recall of Similac organic formula, Earth's Best became the only affordable organic formula on the market that I could find readably available. The only other option available on the market besides Earth's Best is Babys Only Organic Toddler Formula, Dairy Iron Fortified, 12.7-Ounce Canisters (Pack of 3) and at nearly $30 for 3 cans of 12.7 oz of formula was out of our means. With Amazon subscribe and save, this formula is nearly the same price as non-organic formula. How could I even consider feeding my son anything else?

These are the ISSUES I have with the formula:

SYRUP SOLIDS. Sugar in formula? Excuse me! This is really disappointing but I believe the organic element of the formula far outweighs switching to a non-organic formula. As I said earlier, Baby Only is too expensive to even be an option for us. Plus, I believe the use of pesticides in formula ingredients is a far more dangerous concept than sugar!

DHA/ARA. I am not a fan of the synthetically derived DHA/ARA found in EB formula. However, there are no affordable formulas on the market that have naturally derived DHA/ARA. Therefore, its hard to judge EB alone. The formula industry should be required to find a NATURAL way to derive DHA/ARA if it should be allowed to market their product as organic.

CLUMPS. The formula can be hard to mix properly without getting clumps. It takes an extra amount of patience and time to mix this formula. The best solution I have found is to mix the formula in Dr. Brown's Formula Mixing Pitcheror use a handheld formula mixer such as the Prince Lionheart Versa Formula Mixer when making one bottle at a time. This way I do not get the bubbles that form from vigorous shaking.

Although the EB formula is not perfect, it is the most affordable organic formula made on the market. However, if it is within your means, you may want to do a little bit of research on Baby Only formula.

Buy Earth's Best Organic Now

This product's ingredient profile on the Earth's Best website does not list "Syrup Solids"; however, buyers should be aware that the formula has recently changed to now include this ingredient. Their website has not yet been updated to reflect this (as of 7/18/2010).

I spoke with their consumer relations department and asked them to update their website since the misinformation is misleading to consumers. The change in ingredient profile to include syrup solids is disappointing. I am now researching other formulas.

Read Best Reviews of Earth's Best Organic Here

My wife and I thought we were doing our baby a favor by going organic. We switched from Similac to this formula and it's hard to say if the issues we had were because of this formula....after a 10 day half and half schedule we noticed less pooping and violent screaming after eating. Since this is our first two kids (twins) we can't say if it's the formula but something didn't seem right. Then a friend emailed about the controversy of the synthetic additives in this formula...do your own research, but we have since switched to Baby's Only (too early to tell if it's cured the issues) and we feel better we have steered clear of the fact we might be doing more harm than good. So frustrating! Here is some info to help in your research.

Seems are some issues with DHA/ ARA additives.

EB's Ingredient List below... have you looked at Baby's Only?

Earth's Best: Earth's Best is the leading organic baby food manufacturer. The company is owned by Horizon (which is owned by Dean Foods ) and offers both dairy and soy based organic infant formulas. Earth's Best uses organic lactose from cows, so if you are concerned about your baby having problems with lactose intolerance, this formula might not be the best option.

Baby's Only: Baby's Only from Nature's One comes as both dairy, lactose free, and soy organic formulas. Baby's Only uses brown rice syrup, a higher quality and more complex carbohydrate, when compared to lactose. It's also less likely to cause an blood sugar spikes or problems with food allergies.

Earth's Best Organic Infant Formula with DHA & ARA Ingredients

Organic Reduced Minerals Whey, Organic Vegetable Oils (Palm Or Palm Olein, High Oleic (Safflower Or Sunflower),Coconut, Soy), Organic Nonfat Milk, Organic Lactose, And Less Than 1%: Crypthecodinium Cohnii Oil (Docosahexaenoic Acid), Mortierella Alpina Oil (Arachidonic Acid), Soy Lecithin, Minerals: (Calcium Chloride, Calcium Hydroxide, Cupric Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Potassium Bicarbonate, Potassium Chloride, Potassium Hydroxide, Potassium Iodide, Sodium Citrate, Sodium Selenite, Zinc Sulfate), Taurine, Vitamins: Ascorbic Acid, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Beta-Carotene, Biotin, Calcium Pantothenate, Choline Chloride, Cyanocobalamin, Folic Acid, Inositol, Mixed Tocopherol Concentrate, Niacinamide, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Thiamin Hydrochloride, Vitamin A Palmitate, Vitamin D (Cholecalciferol), Vitamin E (Dl-Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate), Vitamin K (Phytonadione), Nucleotides: Adenosine-5'-Monophosphate, Cytidine-5'-Monophosphate, Disodium Guanosine-5'-Monophosphate, Disodium Inosine-5'-Monophosphate, Disodium Uridine-5'-Monophosphate.

Baby's Only Lactose free Ingredients

Organic Brown Rice Syrup, Organic Milk Protein Concentrate, Organic High Oleic Sunflower Oil, Organic Soybean Oil, Organic Coconut Oil, Monopotassium Phosphate, Calcium Phosphate, Potassium Citrate, Organic Soy Lecithin, Organic Vanilla, Dimagnesium Phosphate, Sodium Chloride, Calcium Ascorbate (Vit. C), Calcium Citrate, Choline Bitartrate, Taurine, Ferrous Sulfate, Inositol, Natural Vitamin E Acetate, Zinc Sulfate, Niacinamide, Vitamin A Palmitate, Calcium Pantothenate, Thiamin Hydrochloride (Vit. B1), Copper Sulfate, Riboflavin (Vit. B2), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vit. B6), Folic Acid, Phylloquinone (Vit. K1), Potassium Iodide, Sodium Selenate, Biotin, Vitamin D3, Cyanocobalamin (Vit. B12).

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