Study: 1 in 10 breast milk samples sold online contains cow’s milk

One in 10 samples of breast milk purchased online is contaminated with cow's milk or formula, according to a study published on Monday in the journal Pediatrics.

All but one contaminated sample included levels of cow's milk too high to be caused by inadvertent contamination, the study found, prompting the study’s authors to conclude that some sellers are intentionally adding nonhuman milk to their product to increase output and boost profits.

"If a baby with cow's milk allergy were to drink this milk, it could be very harmful," lead author Sarah Keim, an assistant professor at the Ohio State University College of Medicine and a researcher at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Ohio, told Agence-France Presse.

Out of 102 tested samples bought on commercial websites, 11 were found to contain bovine DNA. Ten of those samples contained cow's milk at a level that pointed to intentional adulteration. 

Cow’s milk allergies or formula sensitivities could trigger dangerous reactions in babies drinking the contaminated milk, Keim noted on 700’s Children’s, a blog featuring experts affiliated with Nationwide Children's Hospital's research institute. Moreover, infants need certain nutrients that cow's milk does not provide. She noted that the presence of cow's milk is “just the tip of the iceberg,” since there is no way of knowing "what else is in milk purchased online."

The market for breast milk in the United States has been steadily growing over the past few years, but the Food and Drug Administration does not regulate it. Fourteen nonprofit milk banks follow guidelines by the Human Milk Banking Association of North America. A number of recent studies have raised concerns about the potential health consequences for babies who are fed human milk bought online.

Keim’s 2013 study in Pediatrics found that more than 75 percent of breast milk purchased online contained viral strains and disease-causing bacilli such as salmonella. Other samples included traces of medication that mothers were taking while pumping milk. In some cases, tests revealed that some suppliers were smokers despite claims that they weren’t, according to Keim. Dirty containers or pumping devices also are common sources of contamination.

About 1 in 5 mothers in the U.S. searches for milk online because their babies suffer from a medical condition, according to a 2013 study published in Maternal and Child Health Journal, and 16 percent do so because their infants cannot drink formula. Others need milk for an adopted child or because they are unable to breast-feed.

The health concerns have prompted researchers to call for better standards and regulation for the gray market for breast milk, which is rapidly outgrowing its origin as an informal network of mothers sharing their milk with their friends' babies. In 2010 the FDA warned about the risks of using milk from anyone other than the baby's mother.

An editorial published in The British Medical Journal in March echoed those concerns. "Although breast milk holds many known benefits, seeking out another’s milk rather than turning to instant formula poses risks," it read. “At present, milk bought online is a far from ideal alternative, exposing infants and other consumers to microbiological and chemical agents. Urgent action is required to make this market safer."

Breast milk is also available through nonprofit milk banks, which procure donated milk used primarily by hospitals to feed infants who are born prematurely. 

With wire services