Consumption of lipophilic contaminants in human milk by infants: quantities are usually incorrect

We evaluated several reports on the detection of nitromusks (artificial perfumes) in human milk. The nitromusks found were separated by gas-liquid chromatography and identified by mass spectrometry. However, the quantities reported as being consumed by infants were often questionable (Jensen, 1995). The investigators did not always a) obtain a representative samples of milk, b) extract and quantify the fat by a recognized, accurate method, or c) determine the amount of milk, hence fat, consumed by the infant. Some investigators gave almost no data on the milk, except to say that a sample was obtained. Reports on some other contaminants in human milk were similarly deficient. We have published a description of recommended extraction procedures in a paper presenting a detailed protocol for the processing of milk so as to determine the actual amounts of lipophilic contaminants ingested by the nursing infant (Jensen et al. 1997).