Hipp Organic to change - won't be veggie

[jasperc163]

DD2 (7.5 months) is on a mix of bf and ff (for last 2 months). She has been doing well on Hipp Organic (we are vegetarian so liked that fact that it was). However they have just included a leaflet in latest box saying the formulation will change in Jan - basically they are adding in fish oils and prebiotics a la Aptamil.

Really fed up about this as (as far as I know) Hipp is the only organic veggie milk available - also dont really want to change something that works ok for her.

So just wanted to check noone knows of another? Only thing i can think if is to stockpile it now to get us through to April when she hits 1?!

SMA is veggie (well it was when I was feeding ds...), but not sure about the organic bit..

It doesn't last though, so you can't do that - think it has a six month shelf life.

But if she is 7.5 months already you could get enough to last her to a year old. May I suggest you contact Hipp, they may be willing to sell you the old formulation cheaper because it's discontinued when they stop making it!

Incidentally the idea of fishy milk is really making me boak!

you wait till you pour the boiling water on and you get a waft of fish...

Can't believe they are doing it. But they must think they will get more customers than they lose.

It looks like the shelf life is ok - current lot best before Dec 2010. Problem is going to be guessing how much i need (my bf supply is diminishing so can't be sure that I will be able to continue at the same rate as now).

It doesn't say fish on the leaflet but i can bbe pretty sure it is as they are clear that iit will no longer be vegetarian (though will keep its organic status).

Thanks re SMA - yes dont think its organic but may be an option if i run out!

oh bugger, i may have to stockpile too. my dd is only 3 months but will need to go onto formula when i go back to work at 8 months.
why do they have to keep messing with them? They stopped cow and gate organic when i was giving it to DD1.

The Organic bit might change to, Am in Geneva working and the HIPP here is nothing like the UK HIPP< they have added all the things you get ala Aptamil and also do a HA - HyperAllergenic - formulation and a 'starter' milk.

The family have decided to go with a Health Shop Organic baby milk that is like our Hipp was and it is no more expensive and the BBD is end 2010.

Jasper If you work on the premise you were fully FF so approx 1 box = 5 days, then you will have plenty to last until 1yo and beyond.

I have the same dilemma as we are veggie. But my ds is only 10weeks old, so would have to spend some serious money to stockpile and where would I store that much formula!!

I am caught between keeping him on a formula he likes and is organic, or changing him.

SMA claims it is vegetarian so i may have to gradually change over to that. Grrrr

Not sure if i should buy up the 'from birth' one that she is currently on or the follow on version. Am I right in thinking the only real difference is the iron issue (in which case I will just stick with the basic one)?

The main difference as i understand it is that with the follow on milk the child can drink a little less volume and get the same nutrients/minerals.

jasper, follow on is indeed higher in iron, but it will also have a different protein formulation, being casein based rather that whey based. This might or might not make a difference.

You could call their consumer helpline and ask them precisely what the differences will be - there's nothing on the website as far as I can see,

Mistletoe - no, that's not right. The calorie content of the milks is about the same.

Whoops, sorry....forgot we were talking about follow on still. Not sure about the calorie difference....will check.

Have checked - generally speaking, follow on and non-follow on is the same, calorie-wise about 65 kCal per 100 g).

Tiktok, i know that 'hungry baby' milks are casein based but didn't realise follow on milks where to.

I am very peeved by this as well. Damn them! Do you think there are American formulas that are veggie that I could order over the interweb?

Or a soya formula? Cow and gate infasoy? Hmmm.

Vegan / Vegetarian infant milk

I was thinking about this, but hubbie is worried about SOya formula not being safe. they wouldn't sell it if it wasn't?

They wouldn't tho it is personal choice, same as 1 family i know who used Nanny Care goats milk powder when it was a infant formula and again for their 2nd dc after it was declassed as they were happy with it.

Current family are using Holle Organic 1. They are in Geneva and here HA - hyperallergenic formula is more common than any other but they wanted a organic and HIPP here isn't the HIPP we had in the UK.

Holle is like HIPP was.

I have emailed them asking about changeover date and if it will be possible to buy old stock from them afterwards. And also about the follow on issue.

Will report back IF i get a response.

I had replies when i was abroad and trying to find local suppliers of milk 1 as everyone only had milk 3 or Follow on. Tho if i remember it could take a week.

Response from Hipp below - re diffs between tthe milks and also non veggie status from Jan onwards. It seems that no LCPs to be added to follow on milks but the prebiotics aaren't veggie. Anyway, at least looks like they wil have old stock for a while...

Thank you for your e.mail enquiry.

The differences between HiPP Infant Milk and Follow on milk is that the Follow on Milk has:

more energy (70kcal/100ml compared with 67kcal/100ml for the Infant Milk)

slightly more protein (1.5g/100ml compared with 1.4g/100ml)

more casein, less whey, so milk can take a little longer to digest, making it more satisfying

more calcium, phosphorus, magnesium - required for bone growth

slightly more iron (0.7mg compared with 0.6mg per 100ml)

We were also sorry to learn of your disappointment concerning the reformulation of our formula milks.

We are changing the formulation of HiPP Organic baby milks to bring them closer in composition to breastmilk and to take into account the latest science that shows adding these ingredients can be beneficial for the bottle-fed baby.

Prebiotics and LCPs are ingredients that are found naturally in breastmilk, known to be the best source of nutrition for babies, and we believe it is important that they are now included in HiPP baby milks so that formula fed babies can benefit from them too.

LCPs are not added to the Follow on Milks, as from 6 months, babies can make LCPs from other fats in the diet and they are also able to eat other sources of LCPs, so milk is not such a crucial source of LCPs. For this reason, we have not added these to the Follow on Milk.

Within the Follow on Milk therefore, it is the Praebiotik (prebiotic oligosaccharides) addition that has made this unsuitable for vegetarians rather than the omega 3 addition.

These prebiotics are made from lactose and it is in the extraction of this lactose from milk before the manufacture of prebiotics from this lactose that animal rennet is involved.

Unfortunately we had no control over this and there was no alternative if we were going to add prebiotics to our formula. We felt this was a real advantage to a larger proportion of our customers as prebiotics help soften stools and thus aid digestion for bottle fed babies. We would have used a non-animal rennet source if there had been one and if it would have been cost-effective to do so, but this wasn't the case.

The new HiPP milks will gradually be phased in during late January/February 2010 and we would expect no more stock to be available in the stores from about March 2010. Whilst stocks last however, we will be continuing to sell the old
formulation through our web shop www.hippshop.co.uk which offers free postage, packaging and delivery.