Mum makes brownies with breastmilk for school fair, backlash ensues

Mum makes brownies with breastmilk for school fair, backlash ensues

It's normal to run out of an ingredient or two while baking, but one woman has outdone herself when she found out that she didn't have enough milk for her batch of brownies.

What she did next would leave many flabbergasted.

Going by what this anonymous woman said on Facebook, she apparently substituted regular milk with her own concoction - breast milk, to be precise.

And the brownies were for sale at her child's school bake sale, no less. However, the woman seemed honestly perplexed by the negative reactions she'd received.

"I made brownies for my school bake sale that had breastmilk in them. I didn't have time to run to the store, and didn't think it was a big deal (some of those kids could use the nutrition to be honest)," the post read.

"One of the other moms found out and are blowing it way out of proportion."

She added that she "didn't know what to do" next.

It's safe to say the internet went wild once it picked up on her now-viral post, which has since been reposted by Sanctimommy, a Facebook group targeted at mothers.

That post has since gone viral, with over 1,000 shares since it was first posted two weeks back. 

Photo: Facebook screengrab

In response to the unnamed mother's note about how some of the kids could do with nutrition, one user said: "Oh my gosh, YES, the only way I can get my kids to drink breast milk is by slipping it into baked goods, breakfast cereal, etc. They're in their 20s, so they're not as receptive to latching on anymore, but I'll be damned if I'm going to deprive them of Mommy's precious nutrients."

Another commented: "Let us spare a moment of silence for the children of Booby Crocker."

On a more serious note, a concerned netizen said what the mother did could be a "criminal offence".

She said: "Breast milk, like blood or semen, can carry diseases, which is why legit donation services screen the milk before passing it along to moms and their babies."

According to guidelines by the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA), there are possible safety risks to consider if a baby that is fed human milk from a source other than the baby's mother.

"Risks for the baby include exposure to infectious diseases, including HIV, to chemical contaminants, such as some illegal drugs, and to a limited number of prescription drugs that might be in the human milk, if the donor has not been adequately screened," said the FDA.

"In addition, if human milk is not handled and stored properly, it could, like any type of milk, become contaminated and unsafe to drink."

With all that being said, one can only hope that our favourite baked treats sold outside are made under sanitary conditions. 

ssandrea@sph.com.sg

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