Plastic Straws on Nutricia Fortisip Compact Bottles

Before I write this post I would like to thank Nutricia

Not only did you probably help to save my life, the service I received from your call centres and drivers was 2nd to none – Thank you

In 2018 I was diagnosed with Jaw Cancer I believe the technical name for what I had was T4 N1 squamous cell carcinoma of the right mandible which was treated by right hemi-mandibulectomy and right neck dissection, with free fibula flap and chemoradiotherapy.

Basically they cut half my jaw away and rebuilt it with a bone from my leg

Now as you can imagine when they cut your jaw away like this you tend to be Nil by Mouth for a while, in my case I was like this for about 4 weeks in hospital until weaned on to ice creams, soups and pureed food.

In all this time in hospital (8 weeks in total on 1st 2 stays) I was being fed via a PEG tube direct in to my stomach.

My food intake consisted of overnight feed and 5 or 6 Nutricia Fortisips Compacts during the day, From my rough reckoning that’s about 300 fortisips during my 1st 8 weeks in hospital.

When I was discharged from hospital I was set up on the Nutricia home delivery system, which was absolutely brilliant.

I was initially receiving about 200 bottles of Fortisip a month, which carried on for about 6 months until I started eating more proper food and my weight was gradually increasing, and it was then that I reduced my Fortisips down to 3 or 4 a day.

3 or 4 months later this was down to 2 or 3 a day, I had my PEG removed but after that carried on having a couple a day, but by now was having them orally

I did a rough calculation and according to my math that’s over 2,000 bottles of Fortisip Compact over the year.

Plastic Straws on Nutricia Fortisip Compact Bottles
Plastic Straws on Fortisip Compact Bottles
Plastic Straws on Fortisips
fortisips and straws
Plastic Straws on Nutricia Fortisip Bottles
Plastic Straws on Nutricia Fortisip Compact Bottles

What’s the reason for this post about Fortisip Compact – I hear you say

The clue is in the photos above, as mentioned previously I’d consumed over 2,000 bottles with the vast majority 1,900+ via a feeding PEG direct in to my stomach.

With every bottle of fortisip you get a little plastic straw, now obviously when being fed via a PEG there’s not a lot of need for these straws (in fact even when drinking my Fortisips orally I never used the straws)

Now if my calculation of having 2,000 plus bottles of Fortisips in a year is correct, that also means I’ve had over 2,000 plus little plastic straws that never get used.

Here is a little suggestion for Nutricia – Supply Fortisips without plastic straws and make Sir David Attenborough happier 🙂

If you do supply them without straws already, let the nutritionists who prescribe them know.

Straws on Nutricia Fortisip Compact Bottles Update

I initially made this post in Early 2020 and have just read that later in 2020 Nutricia removed single use straws from 61 products, which took 40 million straws out of circulation and has avoided 19 tonnes of plastic going to landfill. source – https://www.nutricia.co.uk/hcp/discover-nutricia/environment-corporate-responsibility.html

No idea if it was connected to my blog post, probably not, probably just coincidence, but you never know 🙂

Join the conversation

  1. I am a palliative support worker & a lot of my clients have these drinks, we have recently discovered these drinks do not come with straws. I do understand the reasons why but my clients actually use/need the straws, we as a company discard the plastic bottles with the straws in the correct manner. I know you may say buy metal ones or paper ones but not all our clients are unable or cannot afford such things. Please find a suitable alternative straw that can be place with the fortisip drinks.

  2. My mother is almost 92 years of age and has reached a stage in life where need need a straw to drink liquids. I noticed apart from one packet of Fortisip that other have not come with straws. I still have some straws left over from when my father was alive, but when they run out it will become a problem if a straw is no longer provided. Not everyone requires a straw so making these available on request from a pharmasist would be more practicle solution.

  3. I’m a carer for my elderly mother and have noticed that the straws have gone. It’s not a financial issue, but it is a mental/emotional one. I’m already physically/mentally and emotionally overburdened and now there’s something else I have to remember. I doubt that the environment was the main reason for doing this, but money, it normally is.

    An additional thing I could really do without.

    Could literally be the straw that broke the camel’s back.

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