If you’ve seen a tin of Kendamil formula, you will have spotted that we talk about whole milk a lot. Why is whole milk so important in our recipe and what are the differences it makes? We’re breaking down the whole story behind what makes our recipe so unique.
Grab a cuppa for this 5 minute read.
What is baby milk made from?
To understand how formula is made, you must first understand the composition of breastmilk.
Breastmilk is incredibly clever - at every stage of your baby’s life, it adjusts and provides everything they need for healthy growth and development. It is incredibly complex, with carbohydrates, proteins and fats but also millions of live cells, amino acids, enzymes, hormones, vitamins, minerals and antibodies.
Scientists are still discovering more incredible things about breastmilk and how well our bodies can nourish our babies. However, for many reasons, breastfeeding is not always an option, and that is where baby formula can come in.
In the UK, the ingredients inside every brand of formula are highly regulated, with strict national and EU guidelines. This means that all formulas are made from a similar composition of carbohydrates, proteins, fats and other ingredients. What can differ, is what sources those ingredients come from.
What does Kendamil do differently?
Here at Kendamil, we are the only brand in the UK that uses whole milk from grass-fed cows as the primary ingredient in our formula recipes, arriving onsite at our factories from the trusted family farms we partner with.
As such an important ingredient, we take care to ensure the milk we use is sourced from family farms who care about creating high quality produce as much as us.
What are the benefits of whole milk?
An important source of fat
The biggest difference for us is that using whole milk provides an important source of fat, whereas other brands use 100% vegetable oils for the fat source in their recipes. This means we’re able to avoid the use of palm oil completely, and top up instead with a blend of essential fatty acids from Sunflower, Rapeseed and Coconut Oil instead.
Contains naturally occurring nutrients
There are also a number of naturally occurring nutrients that are retained by using whole milk rather than just skimmed milk powder. Cows milk contains naturally occurring Milk Fat Globule Membranes (MFGM), a complex mixture of fats, proteins and carbohydrates that forms a protective layer around the fat globules in milk. It is uniquely found in mammalian milk, including breastmilk, and by using whole milk, we’re able to retain this in our formula.
Creamy taste that babies love
On top of all this, using whole milk is what gives our baby milk its creamier texture and richer flavour. It is so good our founder Ross has even been known to use it in his coffee from time to time!
What are the steps involved to turn Whole Milk into baby formula?
At Kendamil, our team of experts oversee every step of the process to turn whole milk into the kendamil formula you find on the shelves. There are a number of important steps that take us from farm to formula.
• Quality checks - the milk is immediately temperature and safety checked, and the fat and protein percentage is tested.
• Pasteurisation - we use a gentle heat treatment within an hour of arrival at the factory to ensure there are no potentially harmful bacteria in the milk.
• Wet blending - we tumble in the additional liquid ingredients like whey and our oil blend.
• Moisture reduction - to turn it into powder, we reduce the moisture content to below 3% through gentle heating and dryer before it is checked again by our Quality Assurance team.
• Final additions - any dry ingredients like some minerals are finally tumbled through before the milk is then tinned and packed ready for customers!
Using whole milk makes this a unique process, where we can ensure the quality at every single stage. With over 60 years of experience, Kendamil is proud to do things a little differently.
So there you go, the whole story on Whole Milk - now you understand why here at Kendamil we’re obsessed with the creamy stuff and why babies LOVE our milks.
Want to learn more about our different formula milks? Why not take our quiz here.
Breastfeeding gives babies the best start, but we understand every family’s journey is different. Follow-On Milk is suitable for little ones over 6 months, as part of a varied diet. Always chat with your healthcare professional for more guidance.
