Can PediaSmart® Organic Pea Protein Vanilla Beverage Mix be used as a tube feeding for a child?

PediaSmart® Organic Pea Protein Vanilla Beverage Mix was designed to be used orally in place of milk in a child’s diet in conjunction with nutritious snacks and meals.  If a child’s medical situation requires use of a tube for feeding formula as a sole source or supplemental source of nutrition, the specific amount to be fed per day, the caloric density of the formula, and if any additional vitamin or mineral supplements are needed, will need to be determined and monitored by the child’s primary healthcare provider in consultation with a registered dietitian nutritionist to assure appropriate nutritional needs are met.

PediaSmart® Organic Pea Protein Vanilla Beverage Mix is 30 Calories per ounce when prepared according to label instructions.  Healthcare providers can obtain instructions for concentrating PediaSmart® Organic Pea Protein Vanilla Beverage Mix to various caloric levels by contacting Nature’s One, Inc.’s registered dietitian nutritionist at dietitian@naturesone.com

Also, PediaSmart® Organic Pea Protein Vanilla Beverage Mix is available in powdered form only.  Unlike ready-to-feed liquid formulas, powdered formulas are pasteurized but not sterilized.  Meticulous attention must be paid in handling and preparing a powdered formula to be used for tube feeding.  Cleanliness and sterility of all mixing equipment and containers is necessary to avoid contamination.  Purified, distilled, or sterile water should be used to prepare the formula.  The formula needs to be well mixed with the water to avoid any clumping which can clog the tube.  Consideration also needs to be made as to what type of tube placement the child has.  PediaSmart® Organic Pea Protein Vanilla Beverage Mix would be appropriate for nasogastric or gastrostomy tube feedings but is not appropriate for a child with a jejunostomy.  The hang time for powdered reconstituted formulas used as tube feedings is currently recommended to be no more than 4 hours to avoid growth of bacteria. 

As with all enteral feeding practices, please follow the Enteral Nutrition Practice Recommendations published on January 27, 2009 by the Enteral Nutrition Practice Recommendations Task Force and the A.S.P.E.N. Board of Directors. This publication can be found at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0148607108330314

Additional information on safe tube feeding practices can be found at:

Boullata JI, Carrera AL, Harvey L, et al.  “ASPEN Safe Practices for Enteral Nutrition Therapy,” JPEN; 2017, 41 (1):15.

 

Rev 1-31-2023

 

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