News Release:
Study: Hidden Fluoride in Infant Foods
Can Mar Babies’ Teeth
New
York – March 24, 2014 -- Babies risk dental
fluorosis from unlabeled fluoride in infant foods, say researchers in General Dentistry, reports the New York State
Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation, Inc. (NYSCOF)
Detectable fluoride
levels, found in all 360 samples tested, is due to pesticides, fertilizers,
soil, groundwater and/or fluoridated water used in processing, the researchers
report.
Foods
containing mechanically de-boned chicken and turkey were highest in fluoride
because fluoride-saturated bone dust gets into the finished product.
Babies fed
excess fluoride can grow white spotted, yellow, brown and/or pitted teeth
(dental fluorosis). Fluorosis is trending upwards in severity and incidence say
researchers who measured .26 mg/fluoride in chicken baby food which is 65% of a
7-month-old’s recommended daily fluoride intake.
“Consuming greater than 1 serving/day of the
high fluoride concentration products in this study would cause children of the
target age to exceed the recommended daily fluoride intake,” they write. Average
7-month-old’s shouldn't ingest more than 0.4 mg of fluoride daily, they
advise
All infant formula, infant juices and virtually all
beverages and foods contain fluoride. Most US public water supplies are fluoridated.
Some fluoridated bottled waters are marketed specifically for babies’
consumption.
Often ignored is the American Dental
Association’s (ADA) advice that fluoride therapy and
prescribing be based upon children’s total fluoride
intake. "Caries-free children in fluoridated areas are not likely to
benefit from topical fluorides," according to NYS DofH
dentist J. Kumar.
Instead of reducing
exposure, more is encouraged by
advising that a toxic 22,600 parts-per-million fluoride varnish be painted on
babies’ teeth as they emerge and
then brushing daily with a rice-sized dab
of fluoridated toothpaste (.1 mg fluoride) that
inevitably will be swallowed. Blood fluoride levels also spike after varnish
application.
Although never FDA approved, the ADA recommends fluoride supplements
starting at six months. The ADA backtracked its own 2006 guidance to avoid mixing infant formula with
fluoridated water to reduce fluorosis risk.
“…a person’s greatest
susceptibility to fluorosis occurs within the first 2 years of life, as a
result, fluoride intake from all sources should be monitored closely during this
critical period,” the researchers caution.
This
information rarely reaches the public.
“America’s children are fluoride-overdosed; yet
tooth decay is a growing epidemic,” says attorney Paul Beeber, NYSCOF
President. “Whose interests are being
served by selling more fluoride?”
Fluoridation opponents and proponents
agree that too much fluoride can damage bones and teeth. But proponents fail to
educate consumers about studies which show foods can have teeth-damaging
fluoride levels and that all fluoride sources must be considered before more is
prescribed. See examples below.
Contact:
Paul Beeber, JD, nyscof@aol.com
SOURCE: NYS Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation,
Inc.
1) "to reduce the risk of dental fluorosis,
dental and medical practitioners should be cautious about prescribing dietary
fluoride supplements to preschool-aged children in
nonfluoridated areas who consume large quantities of carbonated soft drinks," Journal of the American Dental
Association, Nov 1999, Assessing
fluoride levels of carbonated soft drinks,
2) "Infant foods,
especially those containing chicken, should be considered when determining total
fluoride intake," Journal of the
American Dental Association, July 1997,Fluoride concentrations of
infant foods,
3) "Children's ingestion of fluoride from juices and
juice-flavored drinks
can be substantial and a factor in the development of fluorosis,"
Journal of the American Dental Association, July 1996
Assessing
fluoride concentrations of juices and juice-flavored
drinks
4) "42% of the samples had more than 1 ppm of
fluoride."Journal of Clinical Pediatric
Dentistry, Fall 1991Fluoride
levels and fluoride contamination of fruit
juices,
5) "dietary fluoride
supplements should be considered a targeted preventive regimen only for those
children at higher risk for dental caries and with
low levels of ingested fluoride from other
sources," Journal of Public
Health Dentistry, Winter 1995 Sources of fluoride intake in
children,
6) "most of the iced teas studied contained considerable fluoride concentrations," Caries Research, 2002, Fluoride
concentration and pH of iced tea
products.
7) "Infant foods had
the highest fluoride content followed by chicken
sticks, luncheon meats, and canned meats," Journal of Agricultural
and Food Chemistry, 2001, Fluoride
content of foods made with mechanically separated chicken.
8) "In spite of the fact that an individual lives
in a low fluoride community, the risk of fluorosis exists through fluoride
consumption in beverages," General
Dentistry (1998). Impact
of imported beverages on fluoridated and nonfluoridated communities.
9) "to limit fluoride intakes to amounts <0 .1="" avoid="" class="highlight" day="" fo="" is="" it="" kg="" mg="" necessary="" span="" to="" use="">fluoridated water (around 1 ppm) to dilute powdered
10) "Prolonged exposure to high intakes of fluoride during infancy is much more common now than in
the past," Journal of Public Health Dentistry, Fall 1999,
Fluoride intake by
infants
11) "The estimated mean daily fluoride intakes from beverages for children 2-3, 4-6, and 7-10 years of age were 0.36, 0.54,
and 0.60 mg, respectively," Journal of Dental Research, July
1992
12) "Some infant foods/drinks, when reconstituted
with fluoridated water, may result in a F intake in infants above the suggested
optimum range (0.05-0.07 mg F/kg body weight) and therefore may put infants at
risk of developing dental fluorosis," Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology,
October 2012, Impact of water fluoride
concentration on the fluoride content of infant foods and drinks requiring
preparation with liquids before feeding
A very abbreviated news release went out via PRNewswire
here:
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