How long is milk good in fridge?

I know this question has been asked many many times, but I'm curious
about the most recent opinions...

How long is expressed milk good in the refridgerator?

I have a bottle in the refridgerator that was pumped either on Friday or
Saturday morning. Today is Tuesday. Is it still good (to be used this
evening) or should I toss it?

Obviously (since I'm so disorganized about it) I don't do a lot of
pumping. I'm a stay at home mom and we only give a bottle once a week
or so if we go out without DD. This past weekend was her Christening,
so I pumped 2 bottles to have on hand for the service and lunch
afterwards...she only used one. DH and I are considering leaving her
with Grandma tonight depending on the answers I get about this bottle
(it's not worth it to me to dump it and pump a fresh one...I'd rather
just bring her with!).

Either way, thought I should be aware of the latest thoughts on how long
the milk lasts in the fridge...

thanks!
Kathy

I beleive its 24hrs and thats it. The fresher the better. It can start
to collect bacteria. I would NOT it and would throw it away. If your
not going to use it that day freeze it in BM freezer bags. It can last
3-4 months that way and is easy to defrost under warm or hot sink
water.

"Kathy" wrote and I snipped:

How long is expressed milk good in the refridgerator?

I have a bottle in the refridgerator that was pumped either on Friday or
Saturday morning. Today is Tuesday. Is it still good (to be used this
evening) or should I toss it?

Kathy, go ahead and use it. La Leche League recommends using refrigerated
milk within a week, but my milk didn't make it past about 4 days.

http://www.lalecheleague.org/FAQ/milkstorage.html

HTH,
-Patty, mom of 1+2

"peggy-o" wrote and I snipped:
I beleive its 24hrs and thats it. The fresher the better. It can start
to collect bacteria.

Actually, breastmilk has bacteria-fighting properties. It can be left on
the counter unrefrigerated for the better part of a day. We're not talking
about formula here....

See http://www.lalecheleague.org/FAQ/milkstorage.html

-Patty, mom of 1+2

The Le Leche League says up to 8 days -
http://www.lalecheleague.org/FAQ/milkstorage.html


"Kathy" wrote in message
...

I know this question has been asked many many times, but I'm curious
about the most recent opinions...

How long is expressed milk good in the refridgerator?

I have a bottle in the refridgerator that was pumped either on Friday or
Saturday morning. Today is Tuesday. Is it still good (to be used this
evening) or should I toss it?

Obviously (since I'm so disorganized about it) I don't do a lot of
pumping. I'm a stay at home mom and we only give a bottle once a week
or so if we go out without DD. This past weekend was her Christening,
so I pumped 2 bottles to have on hand for the service and lunch
afterwards...she only used one. DH and I are considering leaving her
with Grandma tonight depending on the answers I get about this bottle
(it's not worth it to me to dump it and pump a fresh one...I'd rather
just bring her with!).

Either way, thought I should be aware of the latest thoughts on how long
the milk lasts in the fridge...

thanks!
Kathy

"peggy-o" wrote in message
ups.com...
I beleive its 24hrs and thats it. The fresher the better. It can start
to collect bacteria. I would NOT it and would throw it away. If your
not going to use it that day freeze it in BM freezer bags. It can last
3-4 months that way and is easy to defrost under warm or hot sink
water.

Thawed breastmilk is only good for 24 hrs. Fresh refrigerated bm is ok for
up to 8 days.

Patty wrote:

Kathy, go ahead and use it. La Leche
League recommends using refrigerated
milk within a week, but my milk didn't
make it past about 4 days.

Hi Patty,

Thanks for this...I don't know why it never even occured me to check
with the LLL. You'd think I was new at this, but acutally I breastfed
DD#1 for 23 months...I pumped a bit more with her (even though I stayed
home with her too) but I guess all of the info just flew out of my head
when I didn't need it anymore.

I guess DH and I will head out tonight then and leave the kids with
Grandma. I wouldn't actually let my milk stay in the fridge 8 days if I
could help it...but I feel pretty comfortable with the 3-4 this bottle
is at. Hate to toss it out...liquid gold!

Thanks again,
Kathy

peggy-o wrote:

I beleive its 24hrs and thats it. The fresher
the better. It can start to collect bacteria. I
would NOT it and would throw it away. If
your not going to use it that day freeze it
in BM freezer bags. It can last 3-4 months
that way and is easy to defrost under
warm or hot sink water.

OP here...thanks for taking the time to give me your input. From what
the other posters are saying, the LaLeche League says milk is good in
the fridge up to 8 days (this milk was never frozen)...so I'm thinking
24 hours is a bit conservative (though I'd normally not let it go quite
as long as this (3-4 days)...we only give a bottle now and then and if I
know I need one I pump it that morning).

Thanks again,
Kathy

Kathy writes:

: I know this question has been asked many many times, but I'm curious
: about the most recent opinions...

: How long is expressed milk good in the refridgerator?

There are actually two answers here. :-)

A number of other posters have already commented that fresh
pumped milk which was immediately refrigerated is good up to
8 days. That is generally true but...

Some mothers produce a lot of lipase in their breastmilk, and
this enzyme breaks the milk down and causes it to taste gross.
If you have this problem, refrigerated or even frozen breastmilk
will taste bad when you use it.

If you have the lipase problem, you can deactivate it by
scaling the breastmilk before freezing it, but, of course,
that deactivates some of the active antibodies, too.

larry

Yes acctually I am wrong. I have tons of milk stored and often defrost
it and THAT can only be kept for 24 hrs. Opps Im glad someone else
responded. Sorry for the wrong info.