Products

There are a wide variety of products that are categorised as ‘Foods for Special Medical Purposes’ or FSMPs. All of these are specially developed to meet the specific requirement of the patients they support, be they premature babies, those suffering cystic fibrosis or elderly patients.

The range of specialist products our members provide include the following:

Enteral feeds, including oral nutrition supplements and tube feeds, to help patients who have difficulty swallowing or digesting solid food or who need supplementation to their daily intake. There are a whole range of different flavours and textures to meet their special needs.
Products that are designed to meet the specific needs of babies and young children. For instance, some babies have inborn errors of metabolism which require a special diet from birth. Other babies have problems through being born prematurely, suffering from allergies or failing to grow. Our members supply the baby and infant foods for special medical purposes which they need to survive and support growth and development.
Inherited metabolic disorders mean some people need special low protein foods. Again, it is BSNA members who produce the special low protein foods that they need to replace staples such as bread and pasta.

In addition to the products themselves, BSNA members also provide equipment to assist in feeding in special cases. A patient’s nutritional intake can be delivered by means of a tube, through the nose or directly into the stomach. BSNA members provide the preparation or liquid and the equipment to deliver it. These tube-delivered and oral foods help people with conditions which include cancer, dementia, kidney failure, cystic fibrosis and the intestinal inflammation of Crohn’s disease.

FSMPs and children

Some young children are born with,or develop, gastrointestinal intolerance or failure. This means they cannot consume regular foods, but need special formulas that can be easily digested and absorbed.

Children have very high energy and protein requirements to grow and can quickly become malnourished when these needs are not met. FSMPs are an essential part of their medical management and help them grow and develop normally.

Around 2% of infants suffer from cow's milk allergy, and cannot tolerate milk protein used in regular infant formula. Providing these infants with FSMP products (based on extensively hydrolysed cow's milk or amino acids) secures their healthy growth and normal development.

Another patient group relying on FSMPs are those who suffer from rare inborn metabolic disorders such as Phenylketonuria (PKU). The cumulative incidence is conservatively estimated to be 1 in 5,000 live births. Most of these patients have to consume FSMPs throughout their life to ensure normal growth, health, mental development and functionality.

FSMPs benefiting elderly patients

Weight loss in connection with disease and ageing is traditionally seen as inherent and unavoidable. It is known that the prevalence of disease-related malnutrition in Europe is growing as the population ages. In Europe, about 1 in 4 (19 - 20%) of hospital patients, between 17 and 97% of residents in long term care and between 13 and 30% of elderly living at home are malnourished, or at risk of malnutrition.

FSMPs are the only evidence-based nutritional solution for disease-related malnutrition across all ages, including children. FSMPs have been shown to result in lower health care costs by shortening hospital stays and keeping patients independent for longer. They can be taken by mouth or often via a tube into the mouth or stomach.

Elderly patients who have suffered a stroke often lose the ability to swallow and therefore cannot eat normal foods. Without the use of FSMPs, patients would quickly become malnourished and suffer complications such as pressure ulcers or infections.

The British Association for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (BAPEN) have led the production of a report reviewing strategies for combatting malnutrition. The report can be accessed here: Advisory Group on Malnutrition, led by BAPEN