INSC at IMGC HYBRID Symposium 2026

On September 15, 2026, INSC members will present a poster titled “Scientific Considerations for Evaluating Functional Ingredients in Infant Formula: Outcomes of the INSC Workshop.”

Abstract

The Infant Nutrition Science Coalition convened a workshop on March 2-3, 2026, to identify consensus topics and research priorities for evaluating functional ingredients in infant formula. The goal was to establish a scientific framework for identifying human milk components, including form and level, and to define appropriate preclinical and clinical approaches for evaluating safety and suitability.

A multidisciplinary expert panel from academia, government, and industry completed two survey rounds using a blinded, modified Delphi process facilitated by SciPinion. Panelists addressed charge questions in three areas: human milk as a guide for ingredient inclusion, preclinical models, and clinical endpoints for evaluating safety and suitability. Anonymized peer review and feedback over two online rounds produced clarity on topics of consensus and divergence, which informed workshop discussions.

During pre-workshop discussion, panelists reached strong consensus that safety and suitability are distinct evaluations requiring separate evidence streams; that human milk is the appropriate conceptual reference standard but may be insufficient alone to guide infant formula composition or determinations of ingredient safety or suitability; and that a tiered evaluation framework based on known or plausible physiological function is both necessary and achievable. There was agreement on the value of the totality of evidence, including randomized control clinical trials in human infants, preclinical animal studies, and NAM models, although more discussion was needed on how to apply these data to evaluations of safety and suitability.

The workshop identified areas of consensus in many areas, including the definition of safety. Other areas were identified where more discussion is needed, such as how to separate the evaluation of safety from the determination of suitability.

About the International Milk Genomics Consortium (IMGC) Symposium

The Annual IMGC Symposium is the IMGC’s flagship conference, hosted in the fall every year in a different location worldwide. The symposium features the latest, cutting-edge scientific research and discoveries in milk science and their applications for human health. The Symposium is instrumental in building a collaborative, multi-disciplinary, pre-competitive platform for scientific discoveries of the structures, functions, actions, and benefits of milk and to facilitate the application of that knowledge into practice for health.