Pablum

Pablum was a cereal for infants marketed by Mead Johnson Corporation. Invented in 1930 by three Canadian pediatricians Frederick Tisdall, Theodore Drake, and Alan Brown, Pablum marked a breakthrough in nutritional science. Although it was not the first food designed and sold specifically for babies, it was more popular and successful than prior products in an era when infant malnutrition was still a major problem in industrialized countries.

Pablum was made from a mixture of ground and precooked wheat, oat, and corn meals as well as bone meal, yeast, and alfalfa. It provided minerals and vitamins A, B1, B2, D and E while being palatable, easily digestible, and not causing side effects like diarrhea or constipation.

A royalty on every package sold went to the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto where Tisdall, Drake and Brown were doctors.

Rhetorical Usage

In lower case, the word pablum is often used to indicate anything bland or oversimplified, especially a work of literature or speech. This usage predates the invention of the cereal.

See Also

• Baby food
• Infant formula

External Links

• "Canadian Medicine: Doctors and Discoveries" (http://www.mta.ca/faculty/arts/canadian_studies/english/about/study_guide/doctors/better_foods.html)
• "Hospital for Sick Children" (http://www.sickkids.on.ca)

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