A formula first: Similac made with whole milk and ready-to-feed

If you’ve looked at infant formula made with whole milk for your baby, chances are you’ve thought about three things: ingredients, convenience, and confidence that your choice in infant formula is good for your baby.

Abbott’s new Similac 360 Total Care Made With Whole Milk delivers in each category. It’s the first ready-to-feed infant formula made with whole milk available in the U.S. And because it’s available exclusively in a liquid format, it means it’s also commercially sterilized – like all liquid infant formulas made by Abbott – using a proven process that eliminates potentially harmful microorganisms, including the spores that can cause infant botulism.

With that, parents get a new formula they can feel good about, offered at a price that’s comparable to powdered Similac 360 Total Care, when you look at the cost per feeding.¹

And it’s hard for formula to be more convenient than “ready-to-feed”: No mixing, no mess, and available off the shelf in a serving size that’s just right for newborns.

Let’s take a closer look.

What is the significance of using whole milk in baby formula?

Infant formulas made with whole milk are gaining in popularity.

“We’ve been listening to parents, and we know that some are asking for infant formulas made with whole milk for their babies,” says Misha Pardubicka-Jenkins, Abbott’s U.S. vice president and general manager for pediatric nutrition.

Parents have great options in the form of skim milk-based Similac formulas that support babies’ growth and development as well. But using whole milk in Similac 360 Total Care Made With Whole Milk provides a fat blend that is closer to the fats in breast milk. That, along with a blend of five immune-nourishing prebiotics, helps make this new Similac Abbott’s closest formula to breast milk yet.

Why is Similac 360 Total Care Made With Whole Milk only in liquid form?  

This liquid formula goes through a proven heat treatment that eliminates potentially harmful microorganisms and makes the formula commercially sterile.

So, there’s reassurance built into the manufacturing process, and the nutrition of the formula stays intact.

Commercial sterility also lines up with guidance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). For infant nutrition, these agencies recommend breastfeeding as the first choice. But when parents cannot or choose not to breastfeed, they recommend parents consider a ready-to-feed formula, when possible, for infants who may be at a higher risk, such as infants under 2 months old and those with weakened immune systems.^2,3

Typically, parents would have to spend more for a ready-to-feed formula, but this new version of Similac is available at comparable pricing¹ to the per-feeding cost of Similac 360 Total Care powdered infant formulas.

What prebiotics are in the formula?

Similac 360 Total Care Made With Whole Milk has five human milk oligosaccharides⁴ (HMOs): 2'-Fucosyllactose, Lacto-N-Tetraose, 3-Fucosyllactose, 6'-Sialyllactose and 3'-Sialyllactose. These are prebiotics structurally identical to five of those found in breast milk. Together, as one clinical study showed, they help support a baby’s immune system, language and social development, and digestive health. 

Where can I find this formula?

You can find Similac 360 Total Care Made With Whole Milk at Amazon.com, as well as nationwide in the U.S. on Target.com and Walmart.com. It will be available at retail locations soon and roll out to grocers and pharmacies throughout the rest of the year.

It’s available in 2-fluid ounce, 8-fluid ounce and 32-fluid ounce ready-to-feed bottles for feedings at home and on the go.

Visit our Similac website for more product information.

References

¹ For 8 fluid-ounce and 32 fluid-ounce sizes, compared to Similac 360 Total Care powder price per feeding ounce.

² U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Handling Infant Formula Safely: What You Need to Know. Available at: https://www.fda.gov/food/buy-store-serve-safe-food/handling-infant-formula-safely-what-you-need-know

³ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Preventing Cronobacter in Infants. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/cronobacter/prevention/index.html

⁴ HMO, not from human milk.