One way to prevent protein-energy malnutrition is to provide nutritious weaning foods to infants. In India, several commercial mixes are available, but they are often too expensive for persons of low socioeconomic status. To find a more affordable product, four weaning mixes were formulated using local foods and traditional processing techniques. They were evaluated for acceptability by a sample target population of mothers and infants, and for protein, iron, and energy content using established laboratory methods. All the mixes were inexpensive and nutritious, and remained acceptable even after being stored for one month.

Natural mother’s breast milk (MBM) is the best food for all newborns especially the preterm. However, when natural MBM is not available or insufficient donor breast milk (DBM) is the second-best option. Sterifeed or HSC human milk pasteurizers have been commonly used for several decades. While these devices have served the purpose, they are relatively large, expensive, require special electrical and water connections, need a large amount of water which is not recycled and an ongoing supply of disposable plastic bottles. In addition, the use of these machines requires special training. Here we describe the development of a compact, automated, user-friendly human breast milk pasteurizer (HBMP) named Kimie capable of pasteurizing small volumes of DBM. This device does not require special water plumbing, recycles water, is inexpensive and does not require FDA approval.

Natural mother’s breast milk is the best food for all newborns, especially preterm babies. However, if mother’s milk is unavailable or donor breast milk (DBM) is inadequate, DBM is the next best choice. Human milk pasteurizers are traditionally big, costly, and require special electrical and water connections, as well as need a large volume of water that is not recycled and an ongoing supply of disposable plastic bottles. Operation of these machines necessitates specialized training. The creation of Kimie, a compact, automated, and user-friendly human breast milk pasteurizer capable of pasteurizing small volumes of DBM, is described here. This system needs no special water plumbing, recycles water, and is reasonably priced.