Hello, I'm back after a lovely trip to Germany, Aurstria, Slovakia (met first
cousins of my father-in-law in a tiny 13th century village in the middle of the
Tetra mountains - population 300), Hungary and Switzerland.

I still had my sources keeping watch on things in print and wanted to share this
in case it didn't make it into LactNet while I was gone:

New York Times 4/28/96
"Sample Sale"
        The National Institute of Standards and Technology produces some 1,300
Standard Reference Materials - known as S.R.M.'s - that the Federal agency sells
as basic quality controls for science and industry.  It does this for everything
from whale blubber to peach leaves.  Until now, though, there has never been an
S.R.M. for a staple as common as baby formula.  According to Thomas E. Gills,
chief of the S.R.M. program, the new formula sample has assigned values for
calories, protein, fat, carbohydrates and other nutrients.
        Next? A standard for mother's milk.  "This is a concern in developing
countries," says Gills.  "The S.R.M. would be used to compare nutrient levels
and set limits on certain contaminants."

[Jeanette again:  Does that mean that the S.R.M.'s for mother's milk would be
different from those of ABM - that which it is supposed to replace??? -
Inquiring minds want to know.]

Jeanette Panchula, BSW, RN, IBCLC
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