The legislative framework of donor human milk and human milk banking in Europe.

Data about the regulatory approaches to donor human milk (DHM) in European countries are lacking. The aim of this study is to describe the various regulations of DHM within European countries, to assess its legislative context and its impact in relation to donor milk banking. We performed a cross-sectional survey using a semistructured online questionnaire addressing 29 national European milk-banking representatives from June 2020 to February 2021.

Comparative Study Regarding the Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet and the Eating Habits of Two Groups-The Romanian Children and Adolescents Living in Nord-West of Romania and Their Romanian Counterparts Living in Italy.

Background: The Mediterranean diet (MD) is associated with significant health benefits, including prevention of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). Given the important migratory flow from Romania to Italy in recent decades, this study seeks to evaluate the differences between the nutritional habits of Romanian children and adolescents in Romania compared with those of Romanian children who moved to Italy or were born in Italy from both Romanian parents.

Method: To assess adherence to MD, parents of Romanian children in Romania (RCR) and Romanian children in Italy (RCI) answered questions from an adapted version of the KIDMED test.

The "Fortilat" Randomized Clinical Trial Follow-Up: Neurodevelopmental Outcome at 18 Months of Age.

Adequate nutrition is fundamental to neonatal survival and short-term outcomes, but it also has long-term consequences on quality of life and neurologic development of preterm infants. Donkey milk has been suggested as a valid alternative for children allergic to cows' milk proteins, due to its biochemical similarity to human milk; we, hence, hypothesized that donkey milk could be a suitable basis for developing an innovative human milk fortifier for feeding preterm infants. The aim of the current study was to extend the findings and to evaluate the neurodevelopmental outcomes at 18 months of corrected age of the infants enrolled in the clinical trial named "Fortilat".

The "Fortilat" Randomized Clinical Trial Follow-Up: Auxological Outcome at 18 Months of Age.

Human milk fortification is a routine clinical practice for feeding preterm infants. We hypothesized that donkey milk can be a suitable basis for developing an innovative human milk fortifier. Our randomized controlled single-blind clinical trial, named "Fortilat", evaluated the feeding tolerance, growth and clinical short-term outcomes in a population of preterm infants fed with a novel multi-component fortifier and a protein concentrate derived from donkey milk.

Letter to the editor: clarifying some aspects and the terminology of individualized human milk fortification.

This letter has been written by the components of the European Milk Bank Association (EMBA) Working Group on Human Milk Fortification in response to a recent paper published by Mathes et al. (BMC Pediatr. 2018 May 8;18(1):154) with the aim of drawing attention to the importance of the use of a metabolic marker to adapt protein intake in preterm infants.

Fortification of Human Milk for Preterm Infants: Update and Recommendations of the European Milk Bank Association (EMBA) Working Group on Human Milk Fortification.

Evidence indicates that human milk (HM) is the best form of nutrition uniquely suited not only to term but also to preterm infants conferring health benefits in both the short and long-term. However, HM does not provide sufficient nutrition for the very low birth weight (VLBW) infant when fed at the usual feeding volumes leading to slow growth with the risk of neurocognitive impairment and other poor health outcomes such as retinopathy and bronchopulmonary dysplasia. HM should be supplemented (fortified) with the nutrients in short supply, particularly with protein, calcium, and phosphate to meet the high requirements of this group of babies.

Recommendations for the Establishment and Operation of Human Milk Banks in Europe: A Consensus Statement From the European Milk Bank Association (EMBA).

To develop recommendations from the European Milk Bank Association (EMBA) for the establishment and operation of human milk banks (HMB) in Europe. A working group comprising members of the EMBA was convened in 2015 to develop Europe-wide recommendations for milk banks. Each member had experience of guideline development and/or milk banking operations.

Processing of Donor Human Milk: Update and Recommendations From the European Milk Bank Association (EMBA).

A mother's own milk (MOM) is the gold standard for the feeding and nutrition of preterm and full term infants. When MOM is not available or there is not enough, donor human milk (DHM) should be used. Milk delivered to Human Milk Banks (HMBs) should be pasteurized to inactivate viral and bacterial agents.

Nutritional adequacy of a novel human milk fortifier from donkey milk in feeding preterm infants: study protocol of a randomized controlled clinical trial.

Background: Fortification of human milk is a standard practice for feeding very low birth weight infants. However, preterm infants often still experience suboptimal growth and feeding intolerance. New fortification strategies and different commercially available fortifiers have been developed.