Fig. 2.

Flow diagram of infant feeding pathways. While in breast-feeding (blue) there is minimal external entry of pathogens other than from the maternal skin, all other modes of infant feeding have numerous entry points for pathogens from the environment^(9–11). Red indicates those steps in which the food preparation and feeding processes are particularly prone to entry and/or growth of pathogens. Recommended safety steps for handling powdered infant formula (PIF) as set out by WHO⁽¹²⁾ (not included in this diagram) should also be taken into consideration. The schematic is based on information taken from FAO 2004⁽¹³⁾