Below is an email I recently sent to a private client of mine. Since the number one question I receive is “What is the safest infant formula?,” I thought some of you might be interested in my analysis of the two safest brands of baby formula, HiPP vs. Holle (both from Europe). Note that whichever formula you choose, you should always use a water filter to remove chlorine (carcinogenic) and fluoride (linked with lowered IQ). (Here’s more on why you should get a filter and which ones I like.)
Dear E.:
So the bottom line is I would recommend Holle formula as the best option, but it’s not without some problems, unfortunately (yet again it becomes clear that nothing can compare with breastmilk). HiPP is superior in a few ways, but I’ll explain why ultimately I would go with Holle below.
Here’s what I considered when researching HiPP vs. Holle:
Bottom line: Both HiPP and Holle are superior to American formulas, in my opinion. They lack many of the concerning ingredients found in most formula you get here, don’t have white sugar or corn syrup in them, and also skip some preservatives and the carrageenan found even in other organic formulas. If it were my baby, I would probably choose Holle because of the aluminum issues with HiPP–which to me is more concerning than the maltodextrin (the only major downside to Holle). The lecithin, biodynamic farming, and LCP oil issues further put Holle in the lead. And if you choose Stage 1 Lebenswert, you skip the maltodextrin as well.
In terms of where to by Holle (or HiPP): this is complicated since these formulas do not meet FDA approval. There are many online vendors (including Ebay sellers), but until I can vet that one (or several) are legit, I cannot make a recommendation on where you should purchase European formula. I hope to have this information available soon.
October 2019 update: I’ve vetted several places to purchase this formula, and am happy to have established affiliate relationships with the following sellers:
Stay sane,
P.S. If you want to learn about goat milk formula (including one from Holle), click here.
Standard disclaimer: The advice and opinions presented here by Gimme the Good Stuff are based on our own research process as well as current scientific evidence. For medical advice, you should see a licensed medical professional. Statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat, or cure any illness. Manufacturers change the ingredients in their products frequently; always read labels or call companies to verify.
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Hello,
So these brands are thought to be safer/better than Baby's Only DHA/ARA?
Hi! Yes, it is our opinion that these European brands are probably superior to Baby's Only, although Baby's Only is still a good choice for formula-feeders.
Holle is the best, closest to natural milk formula I’ve tried. No chalky, artificial smell, great formulation. All other major brand formulas we tried literally smelled like rotten eggs, or extremely chalky. I cringed at the smells. I had the hardest time giving those disgusting smelling formulas to my new born. But until I found Holle on http://www.organicbabyfood24.com I had no choice. :-)
Actually that organic site is in Germany so I now buy Holle from bIobaby24 which is in NYC, USA! Unfortunately they don't have HiPP.
Hi, can you tell me where "blobaby24" is? I'm trying to find it but don't see anything on it. Thanks!
Sarah-I don't think biobaby24 is legit. I wouldn't order from them.
It's terrible that we can't buy safe infant formula in the U.S.
The ingredients in the U.S. brands are addictive poison. It's no wonder half our kids are obese in America when we feed babies corn sugar.
The FDA should be shut down and replaced for failing to protect the American people. The fact that they actively prevent the sale of safe infant formula brands from Europe is disgusting.
The price of doner milk in the U.S. is also disgusting. I can't believe they declared it a prescription drug so they can control it. Doner milk should be available free from people who wish to donate it so we wouldn't need to poison our babies with this filth. America really sucks sometimes...
Though the comment is really old I would like to comment because I had some bad experience with ordering Holle from various stores. This way other parents can spare a lot of trouble stress and sleepless nights.
Our little one suffered in constipation issue previously. After doing lots of research with my husband we found out that in many cases the formula caused the issue. Holle and Hipp were 2 of the most recommended to switch to by other moms who had similar issues, all over the web. I first wanted to try Holle because they seem to have better organic production practices and because there was an article about aluminium in Hipp formula some time ago.
We finally ordered 2 boxes from ebay to give the Holle formula a try. It was a life saver. Our lo just loved Holle. No digestion problems anymore. No pooping problems. No more tummy upset. Finally a happy baby at home. In my opinion the formula smells fresh and clean almost smells like breastmilk and not cheesy like US formulas. Taste is really good too.
Due to financial constraints we had to find a cheaper source to feed our lo. We tried all 3 German stores that sell and ship Holle to the US. All 3 have prices that are really good compared to the overpriced US vendors. The main issue when ordering abroad is the time it takes for the parcel to arrive. So we had to contact the support and ask them how to proceed. Not all of them are competitive and do care about the customers. We had the best experience with http://www.neogno.com where the support is great. We had been waiting for 3 weeks for a parcel to arrive and wrote them an email that our formula was running out and explained that we couldn´t afford to order new at this moment. Supprisingly we had to pay just half of the cost and we got an expess shippment with 3 Holle formula boxes for our baby until the big order arrived. We have ordered 5 times in total and everything was well packed including free gifts in the parcel. Thank you again neogno.com for your customer oriented The main reason for taking so much time to write this review, besides the health of my baby, is that I dislike profit-oriented companies. A shop from Germany tried to sell to my husband Holle together with Aptamil which they recommended as organic and much better than Holle. The reason was Holle not being in stock. After writing Aptamil an email we found out that they don´t even produce an organic formula.
To all parents out there, have faith and raise your lo with ❤❤❤
Chen NY
Hi there. I was reading on Kellymom that if buying formula (as in our case, as a backup "just in case") we should be looking for a hydrolszed forumula so that the milk proteins are less prone to create allergies. Do you know if either of these are hydrolysed? Thanks, Jean
Hello
Do you know if the study about aluminium in baby food formula included holle? It is a lot in the hipp formula. But I wonder which products were included.
Thanks.
Hello.
I just found the aluminium study on biomedcentral.com and holle was not one of the products included in the test. Who know how much is in that formula? Several other European formulas were. I'm not sure of a study like this with u.s formula either.
Hi Vidhya-
It's true that there is no guarantee about the aluminum levels of Holle--and the company has been unresponsive to my requests for more information because they say they are not allowed to sell their products in the US market. We continue to try to get additional information on all infant formulas and will post updates as we do! In the meantime, the best that parents can do is choose the safest formulas based on current research. This is part of what makes this issue so complicated!
Do Hipp or Holle contain any added DHA? If so do we know their extraction method? Curious if they are using the non GMO method that Baby's Only uses.
Also, what's the best oatmeal for an infant? Preferably one sold in the US that is a true GMO-free oatmeal? Earth's Best used hexane extraction in their DHA formulas but curious if their oatmeal is the same. I can't seem to find this info anywhere!
Hi, can I trust formuland.com to buy Holle?
I'm curious about why you ask this question. I am looking for a place to buy Holle products in the U.S. and came across a similar question elsewhere. Is there a problem with this company?
Hi ladies-
I am removing the recommendations of where to buy Holle formula until I am able to vet some of these online retailers. Stay tuned.
I saw that you removed some of your website recommendations on where to buy these formulas. I purchased through Tora foods as well as Formuland via paypal. Both had minimal shipping costs but were over $30/box. It seemed safe especially with the paypal option but I saw that bioBaby24 does not have that option but is definitely the cheapest I've seen for Holle (around $20) (I would purchase Hipp because it is a better deal except my baby seems to be more gassy on it). Looking forward to seeing what you can find out about these sites.
Thank you so much for the feedback, Jeane! Yes, I don't want to officially recommend any vendor until I have thoroughly vetted them. I have been having phone calls with many of them and will be coming out with an official recommendation soon!
I've ordered from http://www.biobaby24.com a few times. Located in NY (thats where they shipped from) and they definitely are the cheapest. Too bad they only sell Holle.
I’ve ordered from http://www.organicbabyfood24.com :-) My twins love Holle, very good packing, on time delivery, need some more. Will highly ecommend!
My aunt has been ordering from them with no complains. They are really quick and have most of the time Holle formula in stock. Because of the really high prices I would reccomend the shop http://www.neogno.com, which ships Holle formula directly from Germany. I always had newest batches comparing to those my aunt received. The only dissadvantage is the ammount of time it takes to receive the parcels. So I had to order 1,5 weeks in advance and before I went out of formula.
Chen NY
What about the Holle goat milk formula? How does it stack up?
The goat milk formula is a good bet, Veronica, although only as an "add on," as you can see on their website.
Celia, we cannot guarantee any of the vendors listed--these are just places that sell the formula and many people have purchased with them with no issues.
Thank you so much for the comprehensive research! If one were to use Holle, is there a supplemental way to replace the prebiotics?
Hi Lynne-
In theory that would be great, but I have not yet found a brand to recommend. Hopefully at some point we will find one! Thanks for reading:).
I like Genestra's infant probiotics. Natogen for breast fed and Baby F for formula fed. Main difference is pre and probiotics in the formula version.