This from the most recent Baby Milk Action Update (No. 40, November 2007).
"Although the revised EU Directive in many ways improves the essential composition of formulas - a reason why so many Member States were keen to adopt it - it also allows other companies to add "other food ingredients, as the case may be." There is no requirement that the ingredients are evaluated by an independent scientific body prior to introduction onto the market - even though the majority of EU member States and the EU's advisory body, the Scientific Committee for Food, called for this safeguard. If manufacturers introduce a new infant formula they only have to submit a label to the authorities - and that is all. There is no notification procedure at all for follow-on milks. To make matters worse, follow-on milks may be able to carry claims which are supported only by research on adults.
Breastmilk substitutes can be the sole source of nutrition during a critical period of rapid growth and development. Minor modifications can have major effects on infant health. The Report of the Scientific Committee on Food, 2003, identifies problems that have occurred with the introduction of modified infant formulae. Examples include reduced protein availability with impairment of growth; trace element deficiency with severe clinical disease; chloride deficiency with long-term neurological damage and thiamine deficiency with severe clinical disease, including neurological damage and several cases of infant death.
The fact that the EU Directive failure to include a rigorous pre-market authorisation plays into the hands of the companies who are prepared to add any ingredient - before its safety has been properly evaluated - simply to gain competitive advantage. This is equivalent to a mass uncontrolled trial."