Assessment of protein quality methodology for infant formulas

Rat bioassay was used to assess the protein quality of powdered infant formulas and to evaluate the feasibility of using modified casein diets (containing the same source and level of fat and carbohydrate contributed by the infant formulas) as reference standards. Modification of the casein diet to match the milk-based formulas caused a significant reduction in weekly protein efficiency ratios (PER) and net protein ratios (NPR) at the third and fourth weeks. Modification of the casein diet to stimulate the soy-based formulas had no significant effect on NPR values; PER values were more varied. When PER and NPR values of the powdered milk-based formulas were expressed relative to the unmodified reference standard, the relative values were lower than when each matched reference was used. With few exceptions, the relative weekly PER values of the soy-based formulas were similar regardless of the standard used. The relative NPR values of the formulas had a pattern similar to the relative PER values. The data indicate that protein quality evaluation of infant formulas using rat bioassay warrants the use of matched casein reference diets for each type of formula.