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Milk Processing

In addition to the donor screening process, the quality of the donor milk is further safeguarded by the manufacturing process.

1. Clean Room - All processing technicians working in the clean rooms must undergo regular medical exams, cannot be sick while working, and must wear special clean room protective uniforms complete with gloves and face masks.
2. Thawing and Pooling - The milk from qualified donors is thawed and pooled together in a large stainless steel tank. The temperature of the tank is carefully controlled to keep the milk cold during blending and analysis.
3. Centrifugation - Once the milk is pooled, it is separated into cream and skim. A sample is taken of both for analysis to determine the level of protein, fat and carbohydrates, as well as the total calories.
   
4. Formulation - Portions of the skim and cream are blended in exact quantities to adjust levels of protein and calories. Protein, fat and calories are vital to a baby's growth and development. They are measured carefully so that each feeding of these human milk preparations will support the baby's growth and development.
5. Pasteurization - The milk is pasteurized, this process is important because it provides and extra measure of safety, but still preserves important nutrients the baby needs.
6. Filling - The milk is cooled rapidly and held at a very cold temperature while it is being filled into containers.
7. Storage - The pasteurized human milk formulations are stored in a -30° C freezer and held until more tests are performed. These tests are performed by independent laboratories to make sure that the nutritional label is correct and that the pasteurization process was successful.
8. Use - The milk is now ready to be fed to babies in the NICU.