milk storage at nursery.

[kiskidee]

I take EBM to nursery for dd. In January, 2 bottles of EBM went off when it was left in the freezer compartment in dd's room on 2 separate occasions. they replaced the fridge when I put in a written complaint.

On Monday dd moved rooms and guess where this malfunctioning fridge now resides? I complained verbally about said fridge on Monday. This a.m. I went to the fridge to put away her EBM. The fridge is still there. The carer told me that the thermometer in fridge compartment said it was cold enough to keep unfrozen milk. I read it myself at 8.15 am. it said 6 degrees celsius - at the back of the fridge when the door had hardly been opened for the day yet. from the markings on the thermometer, it looked like the ideal temp for the fridge should be be 4 degrees celsius and below. DD's milk is being stored in the door.

Please give me a reality check. Am I making a mountain out of a molehill?

[geekgrrl]

you're not. If they replaced the fridge when you compained the first time round they obviously agree that it's dodgy.
This seems so silly - fridges are very cheap now FFS, and seeing theirs is used to store baby milk you'd think they'd want it to be in absolutely full working order.

[Feistybird]

No way, they shouldn't even be contemplating the risk of food poisoning for the sake of a new fridge.

Disgusting.

[Bozza]

I always thought that you weren't supposed to store baby milk in the door - presumably because every time the fridge is opened the contents of the door get warmed up slightly. Temp of fridge should be 4deg or less.

[NotQuiteCockney]

Hmm, I think 5C is an acceptable temperature for a fridge - at least, that's what our fridge is set at. But baby milk should not be in the door, and the fridge should always be at 5 or below.

No, you're not making a mountain of a molehill, in other words.

[tissy]

if you're taking in fresh or freshly defrosted EBM, then it should be OK in the fridge even if it is not particularly efficient- I was told it can be kept for 8 hours at room temperature, 48 hours in the fridge and 3 months in the freezer.So, if the fridge is running at 6 degrees, or even a bit more than that the milk should last a day at nursery.

Just before I had dd we bought a brand new fridge/ freezer, and I had a couple of bottles of EBM apparently go "off" in the freezer at home. We got an engineer out to check, and there was nothing wrong with it, and never did get to the bottom of it. What I'm trying to say is that there may be nothing wrong with the fridge itself. If it is running at 6 degrees, it should be possible to turn the thermostat down a bit.

Do you have any other concerns about the nursery, or is this the only one? If so, I would be inclined to not make too much of a fuss.

I've just remembered that I used to take dd's milk in to nursery straight out of the freezer, so that it would be defrosting over the course of the day. Could you do that?

[tissy]

\link{http://www.lalecheleague.org/FAQ/milkstorage.html\here} is LLL's page about milk storgae. It is more generous on storage times that I was.

[kiskidee]

thanks everyone. this so far is the only concern. I have seen the temp. in this fridge as high as 10degrees c. sometimes I take unfrozen ebm pumped the day before, sometimes I take frozen milk. and it is not just about my milk. to me this is a serious matter of health and safety which is why I feel like even if it is the only thing wrong with the nursery, it is serious enough to complain about.

[kiskidee]

tissy, sometimes i take milk to nursery and dd does not touch a full bottle so I don't see why it should be stored all day in a poorly performing fridge, shortening its shelf life and possibly going off. Even if I took it home, afterwards, that is making work for me. I know what the milk storage guidelines are, but when I have in the past left ebm in the freezer there and it has defrosted and went totally sour over a weekend, i feel like i would be playing russian roulette with my baby's food.

[tissy]

kiskidee, pardon me for trying to help!

You asked for a "reality check", and said "am I making a mountain out of a molehill", did you really mean "only people prepared to agree with me need reply"?

Your EBM would be quite safe if left at room temperature, so I doubt if you are playing russian roulette with your baby's food.My point was that good nurseries are hard to find, so maybe there is a way of solving this problem that doesn't end up with you and the nursery manager at loggerheads.

[HappyMumof2]

I don't think you are over reacting. Have they given any reasons for not getting another fridge??

[kiskidee]

tissy, no I don't expect everyone to agree with me. i was informing you that i already knew the guidelines for ebm, still, if I brought 10 oz of ebm for my dd, expecting that 5 oz which was brought over 2 days before - frozen - ought to still be frozen, not sour and not just defrosted. I know it was sour and undrinkable because I tasted it. My point is, should I find it acceptable that 5 oz of my ebm has gone off and my baby go hungry because a nursery cant be arsed to provide a decent fridge?

additionally, if someone else's baby had a compromised immune system - someone at my work has a dd with leukemia and is in day care though not the same nursery - and was on formula which was stored in the same room, would it be ok to store the milk in the same fridge? a decent fridge in the room is not just for my dd's benefit.

[tissy]

even a decent fridge, though, won't work in a power cut. We had the same problem at home with a brand new Bosch and never found the reason. I would be inclined not to leave EBM in the freezer over a weekend at nursery, just because you don't know whether the door has been left open, or the electricity company has been dealing with a fallen power line.

I expect there are regulations about the type of fridges that nurseries can use, and how often they have to be checked/ serviced- maybe you could find out from the council? The environmental health dept should know.

[tissy]

kiskidee, have a look at tiktok's post on \link{http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk?topicid=1364&threadid=164034\here} it explains the off milk. Nothing to do with the freezer at nursery.