Investigating the sale of human breast milk over the Internet, a study published in Pediatrics found that more than 10 percent of samples of breast milk bought online contained significant amounts of cow's milk.
Researchers anonymously bought 102 samples from sites that use classified advertising to connect milk buyers with sellers. The sites are generally not involved in the transactions beyond helping make the initial connection.
The researchers isolated mitochondrial DNA from the samples by polymerase chain reaction, the same technique used for forensic and medical purposes. Every sample contained human DNA, but 11 of them contained cow's milk, 10 of them at levels higher than 10 percent.
"This was high enough to rule out minor or accidental contamination," said the lead author, Sarah A. Keim, a principal investigator at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. "This is deliberate adulteration no matter how you look at it."
Cow's milk can present health problems, Keim said. "In a previous study, we found that a fifth of these people were online because their infants were having trouble tolerating cow's milk. Additionally, it is clearly not recommended for infants under 12 months to be on cow's milk."
What should parents do? "The simple answer," Keim said, "is don't buy milk on the Internet. It's impossible to know that it's safe."
ActiveStyle on 04/20/2015