FYI, in the wake of #sandy, social networks are carrying confusing and
somewhat conflicting information on thawed frozen breastmilk. Some
reports indicate breast milk is still frozen if it has ice crystals or
is slushy, others say it must be discarded within 24 hours if it has
thawed, and still others (including two articles I link to in my blog
post on how to protect your freezer stash of breastmilk in the event
of power outage or evacuation) that say breast milk can be refrozen
even if thawed. Both the articles I link to cite the same reference -
Katy Linda's is one, and she uses this reference:

“The data generated by the authors support the contention that milk is
relatively robust. Milk that has been left unrefrigerated for less
than 8 hours, or placed in the refrigerator for a day, is safe to use
and retains a good portion of its nutritional value. Moreover, it
appears that unpasteurized milk that has been accidentally thawed
remains safe to use provided it has not been left too long in an
unthawed condition. Based on these data, it appears that unpasteurized
milk that has thawed in the refrigerator for up to 8 hours may be
safely refrozen. Moreover, this data would seem to support the use of
frozen milk to which fresh milk has been added and then refrozen. This
should allow for more convenient storage and for the salvage of milk
that mothers might otherwise have been told to discard.
 Rechtman DJ, Lee ML and Berg H. Effect of environmental conditions on
unpasteurized donor human milk. Breastfeeding Medicine. Spring, 2006;
1(1): 24-26.

I've noticed a lot of concern in recent years from moms who have milk
stashes in freezers when there are disasters causing disruption of
power.

Milk banks are going to have their own guidelines for accepting milk
that may have been frozen and then partly or fully thawed and then
refrozen. Milk stashes are also used by moms to feed their own babies
while they are apart from them, and there are also moms with stashes
who participate in peer to peer milksharing. I think it would be good
to have some clarity around the use of this milk when its frozen
status is compromised.


-- Jodine Chase
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
The link to my post is here:
http://bfnews.blogspot.ca/2012/10/frankenstorm-is-coming-what-about-my.html

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