Efficacy of Protocols for Cleaning and Disinfecting Infant Feeding Bottles in Less Developed Communities

Although breastfeeding is the best choice for most infants, infant formula is used widely, commonly introduced during the neonatal period, and usually given to infants in bottles that can be difficult to clean. We artificially contaminated infant feeding bottles with low and high inocula of bacterial enteric pathogens and evaluated the efficacy of several cleaning and chlorine disinfection protocols. Rinsing with soapy water followed by tap water was the most effective cleaning method and reduced pathogen load by 3.7 and 3.1 log10s at the low and high inoculum levels, respectively. Submersion in 50 ppm hypochlorite solution for 30 minutes produced a 3.7-log10 reduction in pathogens, resulting in no identifiable pathogens among bottles. This result was comparable to boiling. When combined with handwashing, use of safe water, and appropriate storage of prepared infant formula, these simple, inexpensive practices could improve the microbiological safety of infant formula feeding in less developed settings.