A Belgian couple face court this week following the death of their baby.
The four-month-old, named Lucas, was rushed to a Belgian hospital in 2014 after a doctor diagnosed the baby with extreme malnutrition where it is said he died on arrival.
The boy’s parents, Peter S, 34, and Sandrina V, 30, apparently ran a health foods store and had decided that their boy was allergic to wheat and dairy.
Instead of foods tailored to a growing baby, they fed the boy mostly quinoa milk, report the Daily Mail.
Prosecutors are calling for the parents to spend 18 months behind bars for endangering the baby and then failing to seek medical care when he began to lose weight.
‘The parents determined their own diagnosis that their child was gluten intolerant and had a lactose allergy,’ explained the public prosecutor.
‘Not a single doctor had a dossier about Lucas and child protection services did not know about them.’
The parents’ lawyer, Karine Van Meirvenne defended the couple saying they thought they were doing the right thing by their child who they believed to have an eating problem.
‘Lucas had an eating disorder. He got cramps when he was fed with a bottle and his parents tried out alternatives.’
Doctors, however, agree quinoa milk and other milk alternatives are completely unsuitable for babies as they do not contain the requisite proteins, minerals, or vitamins to support healthy growth.
The verdict will be delivered on June 14.
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