How baby formula is made

Formula starts as cow's milk, then the protein balance, fats and vitamins are rebuilt to look more like human milk.

stations: 6
things upstream: 61
raw sources: 22
steps from the ground: 9

The short version

Skim milk, whey, vegetable oils, lactose, vitamins and minerals are blended in big stainless steel tanks, pasteurized, homogenized and tested against a nutrient specification. Liquid formula is heat-sterilized in cans. Powder formula goes through a spray dryer first. Every step is tightly regulated, since the product is a baby's only food.

Blend the base

Skim milk is brought to a set temperature in stainless steel tanks. Fats, oils and emulsifiers go in next, and then minerals, vitamins and gums are added at different points, depending on how sensitive each is to heat.

skim milk at 60 °C

Goes in
Raw milk Vegetable oil
Hold it hot briefly

The blend is piped to a pasteurizer that heats it quickly and cools it again, to cut down bacteria, yeasts and molds before filling.

85 to 94 °C for about 30 seconds
Shear the fat droplets

Homogenizing equipment applies shear and breaks the oils into very small droplets. This keeps the emulsion uniform and stable through the can's shelf life.
Check against the spec

Lab tests confirm pH, fat concentration and vitamin and mineral content. If any value is off, the batch is reworked until it is right.
Sterilize or dry

Liquid formula is sterilized by UHT before filling, or in a retort after the can is sealed. Powdered formula goes through a spray dryer instead, as in other milk powders.

UHT: 142 °C for 2 to 3 seconds
Fill and seal

Liquid formula goes into metal cans with lids crimped on. Powder is packed into its own sealed containers.

Goes in
Tin can

End of the lineBaby formula

Worth repeating

The world's first commercial infant formula went on sale in 1867.
Plain cow's milk is wrong for infants partly because it has too much casein and too little whey, so formula makers adjust the ratio.
In the 1930s evaporated milk formulas were so common that by 1950 over half of American babies were raised on them.