> The plastic bags can be washed in soapy water, rinsed and reused again as
> easily as glass containers.  I wash resealable plastic bags just as I do 
> dishes
> to extend their use and reduce my consumption of plastic.

I believe that soft plastic leaches certain chemicals especially when washed 
in hot water, hence re-using of soft drink bottles for carrying water is 
discouraged.  However I have no references or details, just a vague memory 
of a news report.

As I stated in one post, it doesn't seem to matter what containers are used 
at home for a healthy baby who is getting most of his/her milk at the 
breast.  I think this was the situation that led to my posts, so I have gone 
"off topic" in some ways.  If the bags are already purchased, it makes 
economic and environmental sense to re-use them but no sense at all to buy 
them in the first place!  Especially when glass jars are generally available 
in most kitchens.

However I would like to reiterate that ALL the references I have available 
to me, dating from 2005 back, which I have carefully quoted in my recent 
Lactnet posts, state that glass is the preferred container for *hospital use 
of breast milk*.  "White cells tend to fall back into solution **faster** 
when stored in glass containers over a 24 hour period."(Goldblum et al 1981, 
quoted in Riordan and Auerbach, Breastfeeding and Human Lactation second 
edition).

This makes sense to me in "real life terms" as we all know that glass is 
easier to clean than plastic, which tends to get micro-scratches over time, 
so why would leucocytes stick better to glass?  Yes, leucocytes are 
destroyed during freezing so whether they cling to the container or not 
becomes moot if the milk is frozen, but breast milk is much more than 
leucocytes.  Avoidance of any contamination or chemical leaching is an 
important feature in a milk bank.

Naturally, I haven't done the research personally.  I just have to trust 
what's in the references I read :-)).   I feel concerned to see 
diametrically opposed information coming out from two list members, and 
anxious that perhaps I haven't done my homework properly.... so would like 
to see the references saying that hard plastic is now the preferred type of 
container.  My information says hard plastic is adequate and acceptable, but 
not preferred.

Jacquie Nutt, BSc, IBCLC

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