Quality Control
Delivering on our promise to provide you with a safe and quality product for your baby is our top priority. Not all freeze-drying service providers use the same process - see below for more information on what differentiates us from the rest.
Our Process
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We never touch your milk!
Breast milk requires sterile handling in order to prevent contamination during processing. This includes before, during, and after its time in the freeze-dryer. Milkify is the only company to have a completely contact-free process from start to finish (absolutely no contact with equipment or utensils at any point in the process).
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Specialized Freeze-Dry Pouches
Each bag of frozen milk you provide to Milkify is processed individually inside a specially-designed freeze-drying pouch (our patent-pending SafeDry pouches). Our SafeDry pouches allow water vapor to escape while protecting your milk from contamination. We do not pool milk on trays for processing and each bag you send to Milkify becomes its own pouch of powder. The SafeDry pouches that protect the breast milk during processing and packaging at Milkify are specially manufactured and our patent-pending process has not been licensed out to any other companies.
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Individual Bag Tracking
We track each individual bag of frozen breast milk we receive from start to finish. Each unique Bag ID identifies your bags of milk, and each is processed individually. This means that even while in the freeze-dryer, your bags of milk are labeled with your name and unique tracking number. Your milk is never in direct contact with our equipment and we follow strict quality control procedures to ensure that cross-contamination is avoided during the process.
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Sterile Handling and Trained Technicians
Trained technicians work in ISO5 cleanroom workstations using sterile techniques to ensure that no contamination in introduced during the packaging process. Every bag is packaged by hand into individual, single-use pouches (NO powder dispensers). Each order is processed separately, and there is no point in our process in which your milk is at risk of being in contact with another client's milk.
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Temperature Control
Breast milk is kept frozen at all times while in the Milkify facility. The temperature of your milk is recorded at arrival, and freezer temperatures are remotely monitored and logged to ensure that the milk is kept at a safe temperature at all times. Freezers are equipped with backup generators in case of power outage.
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Quality Control Testing
As part of our final quality control check, we measure the exact water activity (“dryness”) of your breast milk powder using a laboratory-grade water activity meter. This final QC check ensures that the freeze-drying process removed water from the milk efficiently. This is how we know that your breast milk powder will remain shelf stable for up to 3 years with no refrigeration when stored properly in a cool, dry place.
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Our People
The Milkify processing team has over 40 combined years of sterile handling expertise and all of Milkify's processing technicians are either trained research laboratory personnel or medical professionals who have years of experience in sterile handling techniques. Only these highly trained personnel with active food safety certifications process the milk and follow strict protocols regulating personnel hygiene, personal protective gear, and equipment sanitization to ensure that your milk is handled safely from start to finish.
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Science
Scientifically backed and tested: The processing protocol used by Milkify was designed by Dr. Berkley Luck, an expert in sterile handling. The process is based on decades of scientific research and was extensively tested for over a year.
Approved by experts: Milkify's process has been reviewed by Food Safety experts, Medical Doctors, our Scientific Advisory Board, Registered Dieticians, and Certified Lactation Consultants. Freeze-drying is also used by human milk donor banks worldwide, who have shown freeze-drying to be a safe and effective way to preserve breast milk.