(Here's a press release from Nestle's that I thought the list might find interesting, especially those of you in California. --Len) >Nestle Announces a New Arrival in Infant Nutrition: >Carnation Premium Baby Cereal > >July 28, 1998 > >GLENDALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE) via >NewsEdge Corporation -- Nestle offers California >babies a nutritious and flavorful new way to ease into >solid foods with Monday's statewide launch of >Carnation Premium Baby Cereal, the first to include >the ingredients of infant formula. > >"We talked with parents in California and found that >they are often concerned about providing babies with >a healthy and balanced diet," said Dr. Lillian Beard, >a practicing pediatrician and an associate clinical >professor at the George Washington University >School of Medicine and Health Sciences. > >"A cereal with the ingredients of a standard formula >offers a unique way for parents to add variety to >baby's diet without sacrificing nutrition," Beard >added. > >After talking with nearly 200 California moms and >dads, Nestle found that 4 out of 5 parents had asked >their pediatrician for advice on infant feeding. When >asked about the feeding problems they face, 42 >percent of parents said " sticking to a schedule," 39 >percent said "finicky eaters," and 35 percent said >"progressing baby to solid foods." > >In all, more than 88 percent of parents reported >having difficulty in feeding their baby. (To me, just because the parents asked for advice doesn't mean those are "feeding difficulties.") > Carnation >Premium Baby Cereal offers parents solutions to >some of their most pressing feeding problems. > > >Unlike any other cereal product in the U.S. market, >Carnation Premium Baby Cereal contains the >ingredients of standard formula, offering convenience >with high-quality nutrition. Parents just add water >(three magic words for busy parents) to mix a >smooth, creamy and nutritious meal for baby. > >Other baby cereal brands require parents to add >breast milk, formula or juice to supplement the >nutrition and taste for their baby. (It sounds as if Carnation has used a dried formula base to make this cereal. I wonder if the base is cow's milk or soy.) >Nestle introduces flavors that progress with a baby's >growing sense of taste: Rice and Rice & Banana for >4-to-6-month-old babies; Mixed Cereal & Mixed Fruit >and Wheat, Yogurt & Raspberry add more complex >flavors for the developing taste buds of older babies, >7 to 10 months. Parents should ask their >pediatrician for advice if they have any questions as >to what to feed their baby. > >Carnation Premium Baby Cereals add taste, variety >and nutrition to baby's diet. However, they are not >intended as a sole source of nutrition. Pediatricians >recommend moms should continue to breast-feed or >use an iron-fortified formula through one year of age. > >For more information and advice on infant nutrition, >parents can call 800/516-9637, or visit >www.carnationbaby.com. (Does anyone NOT have a website these days?) >Nestle has a strong history of bringing out the very >best in babies. (For those of you familiar with the boycott in the 1980s, this is a fairly humorous statement.) > It all started in 1867, when a young >pharmacist named Henri Nestle was asked to look >in on a neighbor's child who could not breast-feed. >Henri saved the baby's life by creating a special >mixture of what would later be recognized as the >world's first infant food. Nestle has been in the >business of caring for babies ever since. (So the infant formula came before the chocolate?) >Nestle has always been committed to creating a >variety of food brands that encompass all eating >occasions for every phase of life. With more than a >century of experience in food, Nestle consistently >delivers products that live up to today's high >standard for taste, quality, nutrition and enjoyment -- >in short, "the very best." -------------- Len Leshin, MD, FAAP Corpus Christi, TX mailto: