Contents

Earth’s Best Organic Baby Formula is a great option for parents looking for quality ingredients that closely mimic breast milk.

INGREDIENTS | Closely Mimics Breast Milk

High Points

Earth’s Best Organic Baby Formula is a top seller in the USA formula market, meaning there’s a long list of great features to accompany it. The ingredients are designed to imitate breast milk as closely as possible. This means it has a healthy ratio of carbs, proteins, and fats as well as vitamins, minerals, and fatty acids. It even contains prebiotics, an ingredient that is abundant in human milk. Prebiotics (similar, but different than probiotics) are what healthy gut bacteria thrive on, promoting a healthy stomach and immune system.

The ingredients are designed to imitate breast milk as closely as possible.

By closely mimicking human milk, Earth’s Best Organic Baby Formula has a whey and casein ratio that is almost identical to breast milk. Because Earth’s best uses lactose as the primary sweetener (which is the best because this is the primary sugar found in breast milk) there are no added corn syrup solids which can be rough on a baby’s delicate stomach. Also, a huge plus in this formula is the addition of prebiotics. These good little guys are different, but very similar, to probiotics and promote a healthy gut and immune system. Helping your baby build a healthy base of good bacteria in their gut is a HUGE part of their immune system and overall health for the rest of their life!

It is USDA certified organic, meaning it contains no pesticides, herbicides, growth hormones, genetically modified ingredients, artificial sweeteners, antibiotics or steroids. Earth’s Best Organic Baby Formula is also Kosher certified and has the Oregon Tilth organic certification. Although many baby formulas are certified organic, it’s still important to really look at the ingredients. How each company sources and extracts those ingredients is important and assures that your baby is getting a true organic baby formula and not just one that has the certification and jumped through loopholes to get that fancy title.

Earth's Best Organic Baby Formula Review

Low Points

There aren’t many low points to Earth’s Best Organic Baby Formula ingredients, but there is a controversial one.  DHA and ARA are two types of fatty acids that are similar to the fatty acids found in breast milk that is shown to be beneficial for brain and eye development. Therefore, many formula companies try to mimic this combination of fatty acids.

Earth’s Best still uses hexane in extraction methods for…ingredients.

However, the extraction method that is used to acquire these fatty acids is something that has concerned parents for some time. There is a chemical called hexane that is used in the extraction method of DHA and ARA, and it can be toxic to humans. Many say that the trace amount of hexane in formulas that use it are way too small to ever harm a baby. Still, it’s important to be vigilant about what is being used in our food today, especially for little ones who could be more sensitive to such things. Regardless of whether Earth’s Best uses this method (organic formulas have been under fire for using hexane), the Cornucopia Institute, an organic “watchdog” group, states that Earth’s Best still uses hexane in extraction methods for other ingredients.

The only other questionable ingredient is the high amount of lactose in Earth’s Best Organic Baby Formula. Lactose is the best sweetener to find in a baby formula because it’s the primary sugar found in breast milk. When looking at the ingredient list, companies are required to list ingredients from most to least. Lactose is the first ingredient of this formula meaning that this formula has a lot of sugar in it. The first ingredient to look for in a formula should be milk (this is what babies survive on!), so just keep that in mind when looking at formula ingredients.

TASTE | Strong Taste

Many parents state that their babies took very well to this formula, but there is a handful that experienced otherwise. Although healthy amounts of ingredients are added to this formula, some parents state that Earth’s Best Organic Baby Formula has a strong smell and that their picky drinkers won’t take to this formula. However, just like anything else, every baby has different taste buds and enjoys tastes differently. What agrees with one baby might repulse another, and the same goes with how babies tolerate different formulas.

Earth's Best Organic Baby Formula Mixing Directions

Mixing Directions

TOLERANCE | Prebiotics + Lactose = Yes!

The quality ingredients in Earth’s Best Organic Baby Formula will help babies tolerate this formula a little better than others on the market. This formula was created to be easy to digest by baby’s delicate and newly developing digestive system. Like other formulas we’ve reviewed, Earth’s Best contains prebiotics which helps support a healthy digestive and immune system.

Earth’s Best contains prebiotics which helps support a healthy digestive and immune system.

Using lactose as a sweetener is a huge plus, as this is the primary and most abundant sugar found in breast milk. Earth’s Best Organic Baby Formula used to be known for using corn syrup solids in their formula, but have recently eliminated this ingredient. Other common sweeteners like brown rice syrup, maltodextrin, corn syrups (or cleverly disguised as “glucose syrup solids), and sucrose can be tough on a baby’s little stomach. They are used more commonly because lactose is more expensive for companies to put into formulas. The only other place you should find these sweeteners is in formulas made for babies who don’t tolerate lactose.

The only complaints of this formula by a few parents, which again greatly varies from baby to baby (every human is very different!) is that it has a strong smell to it, caused spit ups, and constipated their babies. Only a small percentage of parents had this issue with their little ones, and the majority had no problems with digestive issues.

Earth's Best Organic Baby Formula Nutrition and Ingredients

Nutrition and Ingredients

PRICE + LONGEVITY | Great Price For Quality

Longevity

Earth’s Best Organic Baby Formula is best used from day one up until twelve months when baby can be weaned from formula. Some formulas come in stages, but Earth’s Best is safe to be used through the first twelve months of baby’s life without having to worry about switching to a different stage of formula every few months.

Price

When looking at the full MSRP for Earth’s Best Organic Baby Formula at $29.99, the price per ounce comes to around $1.30/oz. This is a very good price when comparing to other baby formulas on the market, especially because of its organic label. With no added pesticides, herbicides, growth hormones, genetically modified ingredients, artificial sweeteners, antibiotics or steroids, as well as the addition of lactose and prebiotics, these factors make this a quality formula.

The price per ounce comes to around $1.30/oz (Check Amazon Price Here!)

Earth's Best Organic Baby Formula Review Size

PROS

  • Uses lactose as sweetener
  • Contains prebiotics for healthy digestion
  • USDA Organic and Kosher ingredients
  • Healthy ratio of fat, protein, and carbs to mimic breast milk
  • Contains no corn syrup solids

CONS

  • Earth’s Best uses hexane for extracting some ingredients
  • High amounts of sugar
  • Strong smell

THE BOTTOM LINE | Organic With Natural Ingredients

There are a few things that make Earth’s Best Organic Baby Formula more similar to breast milk than other formulas on the market. The use of lactose as a sweetener instead of other artificial sweeteners is a HUGE plus, as this is the primary sugar found in lactose and is the most natural and easy for babies to digest. Also, breast milk is found to have very large quantities of prebiotics (with small amounts of probiotics) that help develop and promote a healthy digestive and immune system for babies. The fact that Earth’s Best contains prebiotics is a very good thing, as many formulas don’t.

However, the controversy continues about the use of DHA and ARA in baby formulas. Hexane is used by Earth’s best to extract a few of their ingredients, which ultimately leaves trace amounts of hexane in the baby formula. This is still an ongoing topic of debate, so it’s important for every parent to do their research to find out what is best for their family and baby. In the end, Earth’s Best Organic Baby Formula is a great option for parents looking for quality ingredients that closely mimic breast milk.