3 ms·
The powder is not sterile. The advice I got was to mix it with 80C water to sterilize it and wait for it to cool.
by 9991 3y ago
The powder is not sterile. The advice I got was to mix it with 80C water to sterilize it and wait for it to cool.
- jhbadger 3y agoBut that doesn't make sense. As a microbiologist, I can tell you that plenty of bacteria can survive 80C. if you were were worried about sterility, you'd boil the mixture for several minutes (even so, there are extremophiles that can survive that but they aren't in general dangerous)
- 9991 3y agoSterilize was the wrong word, but a that high of a temperature will kill the germs that most commonly infect the infant human gut. You may have heard about cronobacter contamination being an issue a while back. If 80C doesn’t kill everything, but those germs pass through harmlessly, then it’s not a problem. If that doesn’t make sense to you as a microbiologist, you should let the US FDA know. https://www.fda.gov/food/foodborne-pathogens/cronobacter-sakazakii https://www.fda.gov/food/foodborne-pathogens/cronobacter-sak...
- Ferret7446 3y agoPretty much everything we and babies eat are not perfectly sterile (I don't think it's common practice to sterilize the mother's nipples?). I would be surprised if it is normal for baby powder to not be safe to consume without sterilization.
- cassianoleal 3y agoNot only that, but barring babies with compromised immune systems, you really don't want to get too crazy about sterility. They need to be exposed to pathogens in order to develop immune responses!
- 9991 3y agoMy doctor recommended it. The packaging on my infant formula recommended it. The US FDA recommends it. https://www.fda.gov/food/foodborne-pathogens/cronobacter-sakazakii https://www.fda.gov/food/foodborne-pathogens/cronobacter-sak... But you do you.