Quality of breast milk: its control and preservation.

The numerous problems of bacterial contamination and proper preservation of breast milk have been examined. Both the many advantages of human milk as the optimal nourishment for the newborn baby and the extensive experiences of veterinary medicine in the handling of milk have been carefully considered. Bacterial multiplication has been studied under various storage conditions. Out of several possible procedures a simple, inexpensive, rapid and reliable dip-slide screening method for determining total bacterial colony counts is described. A clear-cut procedure for the optimal collection of breast milk is presented.