Bacterial contamination and nutrient content of home-prepared milk feeding bottles of infants attending a public outpatient clinic.

To evaluate the bacterial contamination and the nutrient content of home-prepared milk feeding bottles, 48 samples of their lacteal contents were collected; of these, 29 samples were cultured and 48 were analyzed to determine their macronutrients composition by chemical analyses. The medians (percentiles 25 and 75) of the counts (bacteria/ml) were mesophilic bacteria, 78,000 (500-1,125,000) and coliforms, 600 (0-44,000). Adding sugar (41/48) and cereals (39/48) to the milk was a common practice. The medians of the macronutrients contents (g/dl or kcal/dl) of the feeding bottles with and without the addition of cereals were, respectively: protein, 2.8/2.4; fat, 1.1/2.2; carbohydrate, 14.5/8.6; energy, 88.7/57.2. Feeding bottles with the addition of cereals had carbohydrate and energy contents significantly higher. Home-prepared milk feeding bottles were heavily contaminated. Most milk feeding bottles met or exceeded the recommended values proposed by European Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition for follow-up formulas, except for fat.