The Whole Story On: Oils

We’re all becoming more aware of what is inside our food, and we know that baby milk is no different. You might be surprised to see oils in the ingredients lists for baby milks, but we're breaking down what role they play and what we do differently here at Kendamil. 

Why is oil needed in baby milk? 

Breast milk is made up of fats, proteins and carbohydrates as well as a huge number of other nutrients and baby milk is required to try to match that composition as much as possible. Almost 50% of the calories in both breast milk and formula comes from fat, providing the little ones the energy needed for development. 

Fats are also an important source of essential fatty acids, which are used by the body as building blocks for growth, as well as playing a role in the absorption of a number of fat-soluble vitamins like vitamins A, D, E and K. 

Whilst breastfeeding is the best way to provide your little one with everything they need as they grow, that isn’t always an option for every family. The strict national and EU guidelines mean that the composition of baby milks across every brand are highly regulated and will always have a similar composition of fats, carbohydrates and proteins needed for healthy development. However, the ingredients that make up those macros are what can differ.  

What does Kendamil do differently? 

In most formulas, a blend of vegetable oils is the primary source of fat in their recipes. You’ll often see Palm Oil, Sunflower Oil, Rapeseed Oil, Safflower, Soy and Coconut Oil as common oils used in baby milks.

Here at Kendamil, there are a couple of important differences to our recipe. Firstly, we’re able to use less oil than other brands because we use whole milk as the primary ingredient in our formulas. This naturally contains fat and allows us to ‘top up’ with a smaller volume of vegetable oils.

Because of this, we’re also able to avoid using Palm Oil in our formula. Palm Oil is found regularly in food items and household products - up to 50% of products in an average UK supermarket contain palm oil due to its relatively cheap and efficient production. You might also spot this labelled as Palm Olein, Palmitic Acid or Palmate.

However, Palm Oil has been the subject of a lot of conversation in newspapers and on social media due to its potential environmental impact; who remembers that Iceland Christmas campaign? The method of cultivating Palm Oil has been linked to deforestation, climate change and impacting the habitat of endangered species like Orangutans. 

We're glad to see more brands starting to switch to either sustainable Palm Oil or alternative ingredients. However, sustainability and care for the environment is at the core of what we do at Kendamil, and we’re proud to have always been Palm Oil free. 

Our Oil Blend 

To top up the fat component of our formula in addition to whole milk fats, we use a blend of Rapeseed Oil, Sunflower oil and Coconut Oil. These are oils naturally high in linoleic fatty acids and alpha linoleic fatty acids, otherwise known as Omega-3 and Omega-6.. 

In combination with Milk Fat, this helps to provide the nutrition your little one needs in their development. With over 60 years of experience, Kendamil is proud to do things a little differently. 

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IMPORTANT NOTICE: Breastfeeding is best. Kendamil Follow-on milk is only for babies over 6 months, and should be used as part of a mixed diet. Please talk to your Healthcare Professional.