Hate tossing out expired breast milk? This mum started Wonderbewbz to freeze-dry it to extend its shelf life

To many breastfeeding mothers, breast milk is liquid gold. And this is not just because of its nutritional value and immunological properties for the baby.

It is also because of how much time mums spend hooked up to uncomfortable breast pumps to build their breast milk stash – to express enough breast milk for their babies, many mothers pump at work or into the wee hours.

Storage is also a big issue, with many finding creative ways to make space in their freezer or buying an extra freezer for their breast milk.

And then comes the heartache of having to throw out expired frozen breast milk, which has a use-by date of six to 12 months. Ditto if the baby rejects the breast milk because it tastes and smells different after freezing and thawing.

This is why mumpreneur Jolene Tan founded Wonderbewbz (say “wonder boobs”), offering breast milk freeze-drying services to mothers.

According to Tan and other such companies around the world, this process is said to extend the shelf life of breast milk to three years. It also makes it easier to store one’s breast milk stash without bulky freezers – and easier to offer to babies without the lengthy thawing process or bottle warmers.

HOW FREEZE-DRYING BREAST MILK WORKS

In the freeze-drying process, breast milk is removed from lactation storage bags while still frozen, placed on trays, and loaded into the freeze-dryer so that moisture can be drawn out of the milk.

The temperature is lowered to -30 to -40 degrees Celsius before the breast milk goes through a gentle heat cycle, then a round of freezing, followed by another gentle heat cycle, and so on. It can take two days for most of the moisture to be removed.

Unlike dehydration, which uses high temperature, the maximum temperature in dry-freezing never exceeds 38 to 40 degrees Celsius – the temperature where nutrition and immunological components start to break down, Tan told CNA Women. She claimed that this helps to preserve important nutrients.

After this two-day process, the breast milk flakes into powder. Since breast milk is made of around 88 per cent water, 120ml to 140ml of breast milk usually makes 15g of powder.

The powder is individually packed into moisture-proof, lightproof and waterproof sachets, which can be easily mixed with water of up to 40 degrees Celsius. The breast milk powder can also be added directly to food such as oats, cereal or dessert. These sachets have a shelf life of up to three years.

Tan claims the dry-freezing process makes breast milk more palatable compared with the conventional freezing-and-thawing process, which may give breast milk a soapy, metallic or fishy smell, or an unpleasant taste.

“Breast milk contains an enzyme called lipase which helps your baby digest it more easily. This enzyme causes the smell and taste of the breast milk to be altered after it is thawed because of the temperature change.

“Freeze-drying doesn’t go through the thawing process, so this helps with the taste. Some babies are better able to accept breast milk powder as compared to thawed breast milk, though this ultimately depends on the baby’s preference,” said Tan, who has a one-year-old son.

“I tasted my own thawed breast milk as well as my breast milk powder. Though the powder still has a bit of metallic taste, it was milder. My son refused to take my thawed breast milk, but takes the powder,” she added.

A CLEAN ROOM FOR SAFETY AND HYGIENE

It is important to note that freeze-drying breast milk is still a relatively new concept in Singapore and abroad. Freeze-drying is more commonly used for fruits, pharmaceuticals or pet food. Hence, there is a lack of comprehensive studies on the safety of freeze-dried breast milk, as well as how this affects its composition.

Health experts such as Canada’s Alberta Health Services (part of Canada’s largest province-wide integrated health system) pointed out that “freeze-drying does not remove bacteria and viruses present in human milk” and that “contamination during handling remains a potential concern”.

Wonderbewbz is not currently regulated. Before starting the business in April this year, Tan checked with the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) and Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) but was told that the business did not require any special approval.

However, on Tan’s part, she has taken measures to ensure safety and hygiene.

Wonderbewbz only accepts breast milk that has been frozen for six months or less to ensure that it is safe for consumption. Tan personally collects these in cooler boxes with ice packs to ensure the breast milk remains frozen all the way to her facility in Woodlands.

“I can get a courier to pick up and deliver the breast milk (to my facility), but I choose to do this myself because I know that breast milk is so precious, I want to ensure it is handled properly and arrives safely,” she said.

Once the breast milk arrives, it goes straight to the freezer in a small clean room, which Tan spent S$50,000 to build and install with advanced filters that eliminate dust and contaminants. Here, each woman’s breast milk is freeze-dried separately, batch by batch, to ensure there is no mix-up.

These are some reasons why Wonderbewbz’s breast milk dry-freezing service comes at a premium. Dry-freezing 1.5 litres costs S$188 and yields 180g of powder, while 6 litres will set you back S$488 and will get you 720g of powder.

EARLY ADOPTERS TO A NEW IDEA

As it is such a new idea, the most common thing that Tan hears when sharing it is: “Can, meh?”

However, after hearing her out, some of her breastfeeding friends have been among the first to get on board. Some of her early customers also found Wonderbewbz on Instagram

The service is most popular among mothers with an oversupply of breast milk and her largest single shipment to date was 12 litres from one plentiful mum.

“Some mummies with oversupply have had to buy another freezer for their breast milk. For those with no space, this freezer might even end up in their yard or living room. If their baby can’t finish the milk in time, it slowly expires and gets dumped, and they feel so much heart pain to throw it all away,” she explained.

Tan added that dry-freezing can also be a useful solution for mothers like herself with a limited supply of breast milk.

“I diligently pumped every two hours and ate milk-boosting food. But even after a 45-minute pumping session, I would only get 10ml to 20ml (of breast milk). It took me a long time to accumulate (my frozen stash of) 4 litres of breast milk.

“To my horror, my son refused to take the thawed breast milk. That was really my blood, sweat and tears,” she said.

Although Tan had to toss out half of her frozen breast milk stash, she managed to freeze-dry the other half in March this year just before it expired.

A month later, in April, she launched Wonderbewbz, one day after her son’s first birthday. She now adds a little freeze-dried breast milk into his cereal each morning.

CELEBRATING BOOBS

Starting the business wasn’t an abrupt decision for Tan. She had begun planning for it since the third trimester of her pregnancy in early 2022, when she still had a full-time job in marketing. She then quit her job in November 2022 to focus on launching Wonderbewbz, which she runs as a one-woman show.

Motherhood has been one of the biggest motivating factors for the mumpreneur.

“Motherhood has been challenging for sure, but it has been the most rewarding and fulfilling journey of my life. I love my cheeky monster to bits,” she said.

She added that this was why she herself wanted to preserve her breast milk stash for longer.

“I knew that I had to continue working after my maternity leave and send my son to infant care, and knew how easy it is for children to fall sick when they go to school. I have always heard that breastfed babies have a stronger immunity foundation. So I really wanted him to have that,” she said.

As a working mum, she is also aware of the challenges of maintaining a supply of breast milk for babies. “When mums return to work, they don’t have space to pump milk and they don’t have a fridge to store their breast milk before they go home,” she said.

She hopes to help these mothers overcome such challenges with dry-freezing.

“Wonderbewbz is pronounced wonder boobs. It is a subtle play on the spelling but I mean it quite literally. Your body produces breast milk and it is a very natural way to nourish your baby. It’s a gift and a wonder,” she said.