Hi Diane,
The answer to your question is yes, and no!

The only problem with taste testing milk is that spoilage bacteria and
food poisoning/pathogenic bacteria are different.  The germs that make
food spoil make it taste and smell bad, reduce it's quality, but don't
make it dangerous.  The germs that cause food poisoning generally don't
change the taste or texture of the food. The reason we throw away
spoiled food is that the spoilage bacteria act as a marker for all
bacteria - if one type of germ had a chance to multiply, so would the
nasty ones if they are present.

That said, dangerous germs would have to get into the food in the first
place, then have conditions which make it possible for them to multiply
and produce their toxins to make the food dangerous.  As long as moms
wash their hands before expressing milk, the milk is unlikely to be
contaminated.  And most bugs are stymied by all the wonderful special
things in human milk anyway.
--
Catherine Watson Genna, IBCLC  New York City  mailto:[log in to unmask]

"But if ever you're unsure, just taste it, same as you would a carton of
cow milk.  If it tastes fine, it is fine."  (We may talk about soapy
taste then.)  Any theoretical problems with my reasoning?

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