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50 Things That Made the Modern Economy

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The stories of inventions, ideas and innovations which helped create the economic world

Tim Harford tells the fascinating stories of inventions, ideas and innovations which have helped create the economic world.

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50 Things That Made the Modern Economy: Infant Formula

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Infant Formula

10/06/2017 GMT

BBC World Service - 50 Things That Made the Modern Economy, Infant FormulaSearch BBC

For many new mothers who want, or need, to get back to work, infant formula is a godsend

In 1865 Justus von Liebig invented Soluble Food for Babies. It was the world’s first commercial substitute for breastmilk and it has helped to shape the modern workplace.

Not every baby has a mother who can breastfeed. Indeed, not every baby has a mother. In the early 1800s, only two in three babies who weren’t breastfed lived to see their first birthday. Many were given “pap”, a bread-and-water mush, from hard-to-clean receptacles that teemed with bacteria. But in 1865 Justus von Liebig invented Soluble Food for Babies – a powder comprising cow’s milk, wheat flour, malt flour and potassium bicarbonate. It was the first commercial substitute for breastmilk and, as Tim Harford explains, it has helped shape the modern workplace.

Editors: Richard Knight and Richard Vadon
Producer: Ben Crighton

(Image: Baby lying down drinking from bottle, Credit: Lopolo/Shutterstock)

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