What’s Freezer Burn And How Does It Affect Frozen Breast Milk?

If you store breast milk in the freezer as you should, you may have noticed ice crystals forming in the milk. When you thaw it, you catch a whiff of a sour odor. Does this mean the milk has gone bad? No, this is just the sign of freezer burn in your breast milk.

What is freezer burn? Freezer burn is what happens when food much like breast milk is frozen and exposed to air. The milk reacts to the oxygen, or oxidizes, causing it to lose moisture and form ice clumps.

Nonetheless, the milk is still safe for your baby to drink. He may still drink it, but he might not want to. Freezer burn causes the milk to taste bad, so your baby might reject the thawed milk. Also, the milk may have lost much of its moisture, so it may not hydrate your baby enough.