XP: Freaking out here RE: My entire stash of frozen BM may be spoiled!!!

Re: XP: Freaking out here RE: My entire stash of frozen BM may be spoiled!!!

• SassyErika

  January 2009

  I hope it's not all spoiled! That would be awful!

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• to-be-lam

  January 2009

  Does it have a metallic taste?  You may have a high lipase activity.  You may want to look that up on kellymom.com.  If that is your problem, you can solve it by scalding the milk before freezing it.  And I *think* that the milk you have right now may be okay...
  

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• to-be-lam

  January 2009

  From kellymom

   

  Human milk that has truly soured has a very distinct sour taste and odor - much like soured cow's milk. If your milk doesn't smell distinctly sour or rancid, then it should be safe to give to your baby.

  If you repeatedly notice that your stored milk doesn't smell or taste fresh, it might help to go through your storage procedures to see if there is something you could do to improve the smell/taste of your milk:

  • Storage containers: Standard glass or plastic bottles (or any type of leak-proof food storage containers) are acceptable for storing mother's milk, as are disposable bottle liners or "mother's milk" bags. The best materials are glass or food-grade polypropylene or polybutylene (hard) plastic. Polyethylene bags (bottle liners) do not preserve nutrients and immune properties as well as glass or hard plastic. (Jones & Tully 2005)
    • If you're using standard plastic bottle liners, instead try using bags specifically designed for storing human milk.
    • If you're storing in plastic, try glass instead.

  • Storage conditions:
    • Do you plan to freeze the milk? If you're not expecting to use refrigerated milk within 5-8 days of expression, then freeze as soon as possible after expression. Use as soon as possible after thawing (but always within 24 hours).
    • Make sure that all packages in your refrigerator or freezer are sealed well, so that your milk cannot absorb odors from other foods. A box of baking soda placed in the refrigerator or freezer may help to absorb odors.
    • Store your milk in the BACK of the refrigerator or freezer, not in the door. Don't store your milk against the wall of a self-defrosting freezer.
    • Is your freezer cold enough? If your freezer keeps ice cream hard, then the temperature is right.

  A few mothers find that their refrigerated or frozen milk begins to smell or taste soapy, sour, or even rancid soon after it's stored, even though all storage guidelines have been followed closely. Per Lawrence & Lawrence (p. 781), the speculation is that these mothers have an excess of the enzyme lipase in their milk, which begins to break down the milk fat soon after the milk is expressed. Most babies do not mind a mild change in taste, and the milk is not harmful, but the stronger the taste the more likely that baby will reject it.

  Lipase is an enzyme that is normally present in human milk and has several known beneficial functions:

  • Lipases help keep milk fat well-mixed (emulsified) with the "whey" portion of the milk, and also keep the fat globules small so that they are easily digestible (Lawrence & Lawrence, p. 156).
  • Lipases also help to break down fats in the milk, so that fat soluble nutrients (vitamins A & D, for example) and free fatty acids (which help to protect baby from illness) are easily available to baby (Lawrence & Lawrence, p. 156).
  • The primary lipase in human milk, bile salt-stimulated lipase (BSSL), "has been found to be the major factor inactivating protozoans" (Lawrence & Lawrence, p. 203).

  Per Lawrence & Lawrence (p. 158), the amount of BSSL in a particular mother's milk does not vary during a feed, and is not different at different times of day or different stages of lactation. There is evidence that there may be a decrease in lipase activity over time in mothers who are malnourished.

  What can I do if my storage problem is due to excess lipase? Once the milk becomes sour or rancid smelling/tasting, there is no known way to salvage it. However, newly expressed milk can be stored by heating the milk to a scald to inactivate the lipase and stop the process of fat digestion. Scald the milk as soon after expression as possible.

  To scald milk:

  • Heat milk to about 180 F (82 C), or until you see little bubbles around the edge of the pan (not to a full, rolling boil).
  • Quickly cool and store the milk.

  Scalding the milk will destroy some of the antiinfective properties of the milk and may lower some nutrient levels, but this is not likely to be an issue unless all of the milk that baby is receiving has been heat-treated.

  Per Lawrence & Lawrence, bile salt-stimulated lipase can also be destroyed by heating the milk at 144.5 F (62.5 C) for one minute (p. 205), or at 163 F (72 C) for up to 15 seconds (p. 771).

   

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• ebearwife member

  January 2009

  I hope its just the lipase thing!  I have 100+ oz stored as well and I don't know what I would do if something happened to it!
  

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• renee143 member

  January 2009

  Hey there! ?PPs are right...spoiled milk smells RANCID, not "off." ?If in doubt, taste it. ?There is no mistaking sour milk...and HC wouldn't drink it either. ?Good luck, spoiled milk is such a bummer!

  (and congratulations on your stash- that's awesome. ?I sucked at pumping )?

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