Metals risk in baby milk: Formula can contain 100 times more aluminium than breast Traces of metal in milk from leading products found to be much higher than is legally allowed in water, according to research Top brands Aptamil, Cow and Gate and Hipp Organic all contained levels of aluminium which are too high, say the scientists Formula baby milk can contain 100 times more aluminium than breast milk, potentially causing health problems in later life, claim researchers. Traces of the metal in milk from some of the UK's leading products were found to be much higher than is legally allowed in water, according to scientists at Keele University, Staffordshire. Top brands including Aptamil, Cow and Gate and Hipp Organic all contained levels of aluminium which are too high, say the researchers. Formula baby milk can contain 100 times more aluminium than breast milk, potentially causing health problems in later life, claim researchers Their study, published in the journal BMC Pediatrics, examined 30 types of formula sold in the UK, including infant first milks and toddler milks. Previous research has linked aluminium to neurological diseases, bone defects and dementia in later life. Manufacturers say they do not add aluminium to their products, but many formulas are often packaged in aluminium foil and the metal may be found in the ingredients or processing. It occurs naturally in soya plants due to the acidic soil they are grown in. Experts are now calling for manufacturers to dramatically lower the amount of aluminium that ends up in their products or print the aluminium level they contain so parents can make an informed choice on which formula to buy. Traces of the metal in milk from some of the UK's leading products were found to be much higher than is legally allowed in water, according to scientists at Keele University, Staffordshire Study leader Professor Chris Exley, who raised the alarm three years ago with a similar study, said some formulas have aluminium levels 100 times higher than the same amount of breast milk. He said "We believe this is too much aluminium to be subjecting a human to at their most vulnerable stage of life. We know an awful lot about aluminium but we don't know an awful lot about how it impacts on human health. People have almost certainly heard about the link with Alzheimer's disease and other neurological conditions and we know from studies that it influences the way in which bones form. Aluminium can also produce anaemia in individuals, which is not then helped by giving people more iron. How may this aluminium be impacting on the immediate and long-term health of the baby - these are questions that are still unanswered. What we don't know is whether aluminium is accumulating in the bodies of formula-fed babies. If it is, aluminium has no biological function at all, you have no requirement for it. Simply the fact we don't have experiments showing that it's either safe or not safe in humans certainly doesn't mean it's not an issue. The study involved both ready-to-drink formulas and powdered varieties - all 30 types were found to contain aluminium. Results showed both ready-to-drink and powdered varieties had a similar concentration of aluminium overall, but it was highest in soya-based milks. Among ready-to-drink types, SMA toddler milk had the lowest concentration, followed by Hipp Organic first infant milk, Aptamil hungry baby milk, SMA first infant milk and Aptamil first milk. The growing up milks produced by Cow and Gate and Aptamil had the highest concentrations. For powdered milks, Hipp Organic growing up milk had the lowest level, followed by Aptamil hungry, Aptamil first milk and Hipp Organic follow-on milk. At the other end of the scale, soya-based formulations had the highest concentrations of aluminium but SMA toddler milk and Hipp Organic first infant milk also had high levels. The law states aluminium levels in water can be no more than 200 micrograms per litre, meaning some of the milks contained several times this level. However, European limits in water are not based on health risks but on aesthetic considerations about the colour of water. The Food Standards Agency has previously said it does not have concerns about aluminium intake based on cow's milk infant formula. Soya-based milks should be used on the advice of a GP as they are likely to contain higher levels. Prof Exley, a chemist, accused the manufacturers of complacency, saying: "We expected something to be done about this since our last research but, if anything, the amount of aluminium in packaging has increased." Top brands including Aptamil, Cow and Gate and Hipp Organic all contained levels of aluminium which are too high, say the researchers Prof Exley said it was unclear how the aluminium was getting into the milk. He said: "There's a very good chance that some of this aluminium is coming from the packaging and an equal chance it is in the ingredients. Processing is also likely to be a source. Prof Exley said: "Clearly the manufacturers of infant formulas are not concerned about reducing their content of aluminium and the extensive use of aluminium-based packaging for infant formulas seems to confirm this. There are no adequate criteria upon which to base a safety level for aluminium in infant formulas and for this reason it would be sensible to take action to reduce the level of aluminium to a lowest practicable level.