(P27-011-25) Does Pasteurized Donor Human Milk Provide Adequate Intakes of Minerals and Trace Elements for Term-Born Infants?

Objectives: Pasteurized donor human milk (DM) is milk from screened donors, that is donated frozen (often several months postpartum and may not provide full-breast expressions), thawed, pooled, pasteurized (62.5°C for 30 min), frozen, distributed, and thawed for feeding. Therefore, the nutrient composition of DM may differ from what a breastfed newborn receives. DM is largely distributed to hospitals for feeding preterm infants, but there is recent interest in offering DM to term-born infants. However, there is a paucity of data on DM mineral and trace element contents, thus precluding assessment of its appropriateness as an alternative to mother’s milk for term-born infants if used longer than a short-term bridge to establish breastfeeding. We aimed to determine mineral and trace element concentrations in DM and compare these to reference adequate intake cut-off values established by the U.S. National Academies of Medicine (NAM).

Methods: Sodium, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, copper, zinc, and iodine were quantified using inductively coupled mass spectrometry and compared to NAM adequate intake values for infants aged 0-6 months.

Results: DM samples (N = 196 pooled batches) were collected from two Canadian milk banks (2014-2015 and 2021-2023) as part of two clinical trials. Median (IQR) values for sodium (94 (84, 108) mg/L), potassium (417 (377, 470) mg/L), and magnesium (31 (28, 34) mg/L) were significantly (p < 0.05) below the adequate intake cut-offs (100%, 92%, and 77% of values, respectively, below the cut-off value). Calcium (250 (227, 274) mg/L), phosphorus (128 (113, 143) mg/L), copper (260 (219, 306) µg/L), zinc (1.5 (1.2, 1.8) mg/L), and iodine (174 (125, 233) µg/L) were not different (p >0.05) from reference values.

Conclusions: Long-term provision of DM to term-born infants may not provide adequate sodium, potassium or magnesium. Understanding the nutrient content of DM will aid clinicians in determining its appropriate use.

Funding Sources: CIHR, NIH, Banting Fellowship