Exports of breast milk halted
Tue, 21 March 2017
Chhay Channyda and Erin Handley

The government yesterday temporarily banned the export of breast milk from Cambodian women to the US market, citing fears that children’s nutrition may be neglected.

The decision to halt exports from Ambrosia Labs – the only company currently collecting Cambodian breast milk to sell in the States – was signed off by Finance Minister Aun Porn Moniroth yesterday, according to Rath Nisay, legal officer at the General Department of Customs and Excise.

The temporary suspension is to allow the Ministry of Health and other relevant authorities to determine whether the practice – which has been going on for well over a year – is, in fact, legal.

“The big concern is about Cambodian children’s nutrition,” Nisay said.
“We suspended the exports because we are not sure if the mother provides enough breast milk to their baby or if they only keep breast milk for selling and find other food for the baby.”

Bronzson Woods, founder of Utah-based Ambrosia Labs, which operates out of Stung Meanchey, yesterday said “we have suspended all operation in Cambodia for the time being”.
“We informed the donors well ahead of time what was going on,” he said via email. “Customs has requested that we get a ruling from the Ministry of Health confirming that breast milk is not a human organ.”
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/e ... ilk-halted

Women Worry as Experts Laud Breast Milk Ban
March 22, 2017

Nine months ago, 40-year-old Yorn Thina was approached at her NGO-built home in a slum on the outskirts of Phnom Penh with a rare opportunity.
She was offered a relatively high-paying job with minimal hours, and the flexibility to bring her 1-year-old baby to work. All she would be required to do was sit—as her excess breast milk was pumped.

The offer came from U.S.-based company Ambrosia Milk—known locally as Khun Meada, which means “gratitude of mothers” in Khmer—which had been recruiting Cambodian mothers and selling their breast milk to customers in the U.S. since it set up shop in Stung Meanchey district in 2015.

However, a government-ordered halt on breast milk exports means she has been out of work for almost two weeks, along with what she estimates are about 90 other women—she was the 40th to sign up for the job.
Mr. Saravuth said that although breast milk had been exported “only a few times,” exports appeared set to increase, and the practice would therefore need to be studied. A similar temporary ban was placed on surrogate pregnancies late last year as the government drafts a law regulating a practice that was quickly expanding in the country.

Ms. Thina, who had been making a meagre wage on irregular seamstress work, said she could make up to $20 in one day if she produced three 10-ounce bottles of milk, which would earn her about $120 after a six-day working week. The minimum wage for garment factory workers, by contrast, is $144 per month.

Ambrosia, in turn, sells the milk online for $200 for a 10-pack of five-ounce packets of powdered breast milk formula.

An accountant for Ambrosia said that the company had exported about 500 kg of frozen breast milk every two to three months since it began operations, but that the latest 500 kg cargo had been waiting for shipment after the government’s intervention.

“The company closed on March 11 because the Health Ministry would not issue a permit to export,” Ngoun Srey Touch said on Tuesday.

Though Mr. Saravuth and other officials quoted in local media cited health and ethical concerns, Ms. Thina said she had been told the company had to close because the Interior Ministry was charging exorbitant amounts for export taxes.
“My boss told me the Interior Ministry charged too much, and [the company] was losing a lot of money,” she said.
It was only when the company, founded by Bronzson Woods, who came up with the idea as a mormon missionary in Cambodia, had stopped making the payments that exports were banned, she said...
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/wome ... an-126863/

There is that old saying,,,'' why buy the milk when you can buy the whole cow ''. In other words why don't they export the person and milk them where the milk is needed .

Breastmilk business booming ...but what about the ethics ?

Got Milk: The Underground Online Marketplace for Human Breast Milk
Claudia McNeilly
Feb 1 2016
Because no laws exist regarding the sale of human breast milk, it's technically not illegal but largely unregulated. We spoke to people who sell their breast milk online about why and how they sell their excess lactation...
https://broadly.vice.com/en_us/article/ ... reast-milk


Americans Can Now Buy Breast Milk from Cambodian Women Paid Less Than $10 a Day
by Audrey Wilson
Mar 14 2017
Ambrosia Labs claims to be the first company to export human breast milk to the US. Its founders say their business model is beneficial to mothers in Cambodia, but advocates fear they're exploiting vulnerable women...
https://broadly.vice.com/en_us/article/ ... n-10-a-day

You can get breast milk ice cream in London. It's a booming market

We had a customer in Angry Birds bar recently willing to pay $50 for fresh breast milk shots.
An ex-employee with a copious supply provided the milk.
Takes all sorts I guess...


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Sale of Cambodian breast milk to mothers in US criticised by UN

The UN children’s fund has strongly criticised the sale by a commercial company of breast milk donated by Cambodian mothers to women in the US, warning it could lead to the babies of poor and vulnerable women becoming malnourished.

Unicef condemned the trade by Utah-based company Ambrosia Labs as the Cambodian government intervened. Cambodia’s customs department said the finance minister, Aun Porn Moniroth, had signed a letter blocking further exports, according to the Associated Press in Phnom Penh. Talks will be held to decide whether the business should be allowed to resume.

Breast milk is in great demand by women who cannot feed their own babies in the US. However, Unicef’s view is that their needs cannot be met at the expense of babies in the developing world.

“Breast milk banks should never be operated by exploiting vulnerable and poor women for profit and commercial purposes,” said Iman Morooka, of Unicef in Cambodia.

“Breast milk could be considered as human tissue, the same as blood, and as such its commercialisation should be banned. Malnutrition remains a threat to children’s wellbeing in Cambodia, and proper breastfeeding is one of the key factors contributing to a child’s good health and nutrition.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/ ... rosia-labs

cptrelentless wrote: ↑Wed Mar 22, 2017 12:43 pm You can get breast milk ice cream in London. It's a booming market

jah steu wrote: We had a customer in Angry Birds bar recently willing to pay $50 for fresh breast milk shots.
An ex-employee with a copious supply provided the milk.
Takes all sorts I guess...

Indeed. From 2011:
Breast Milk Ice Cream A Hit At London Store

Anyone pining for some ice cream in London now has an unusual option to consider: ice cream made from mothers' breast milk. The Icecreamists shop has made headlines for using milk from as many as 15 women to make its new "Baby Gaga" flavor.

The rare offering proved a hit with customers at the Covent Garden store — the first batch sold out within days of being introduced. A serving of Baby Gaga, which is reportedly flavored with vanilla and lemon zest, goes for 14 pounds — or about $22.50.
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/ ... ndon-store

With all these women walking around with fake boobs, I would not be surprised if there was a lot of fake breast milk in this icecream.

Duncan wrote: ↑Thu Mar 23, 2017 3:46 pm With all these women walking around with fake boobs, I would not be surprised if there was a lot of fake breast milk in this icecream.

er...