In January 2021, I set up a meeting with our community children’s nurse team lead to discuss the possibility of changing over from Flocare to Sterifeed. Clean bottles, teats and other feeding equipment in hot, soapy water as soon as possible after feeds.

The SteriFeed MilkSafe Box aids the secure storage of Expressed breastmilk and Special Feeds in the ward fridge.Make sure there are no air bubbles trapped in the bottles or teats when putting them in the sterilising solution. There is no risk of leaking, contamination and explosion. Sterifeed pasteurizers use HFC refrigerant which is hydrogen based, it does not contribute to ozone depletion and is commonly used in household refrigerators & freezers. You can put your baby's feeding equipment in the dishwasher to clean it if you prefer. Putting feeding equipment through the dishwasher will clean it but it does not sterilise it. Make sure bottles, lids and teats are facing downwards. You may prefer to wash teats separately by hand to make sure they are completely clean. Use a clean bottle brush to clean bottles (only use this brush for cleaning bottles), and a small teat brush to clean the inside of teats. You can also turn teats inside out then wash them in hot soapy water. Do not use salt to clean teats, as this can be dangerous for your baby.

My experience was that out of my caseload of 123 paediatric patients, 59 used Flocare single-use reservoirs. Many of these patients used more than one container per day. Oftentimes parents would ask me “ can I reuse Flocare containers?” Wash and dry your hands before handling sterilised equipment. Better still, use some sterile tongs. Boil the feeding equipment in a large pan of water for at least 10 minutes, making sure it all stays under the surface.

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I work as the paediatric dietetics team lead at Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust, and my caseload comprises many children who are home enterally fed. This thoughtful and sustainable initiative from Nutricia has improved the experiences of my patients, their parents and the professionals who work with them. I would strongly encourage other dietitians and community nurses to consider switching their patients from Flocacare to Sterifeed. Medicare Colgate strives for continuous improvement using innovative technology for equipment and the latest materials and designs for consumables. The Sterifeed product range represents the ultimate technology for the feeding of breast milk to infants from a mother or donor mother.

It's important to follow the manufacturer's instructions, as there are several different types of sterilisers. Pasteurizer suppliers who claim that refrigerated cooling might not be safe have not done their homework as their pasteurizerwill not meet many of the worlds human milk banking guidelines. Rapid refrigerated cooling forms a crucial part of the pasteurization process as it limits the regrowth of bacteria. Pasteurizers that don't have rapid refrigerated cooling do not meet the worlds leading human milk banking associations guidelines. Rapid refrigerated cooling with final pasteurization cycle temperature of 4°C/ 39.2°F is the evidence based scientific research requirement for the safe treatment of human milk. Your steriliser should have a floating cover or a plunger to keep all the equipment under the solution.I wrote to all parents of patients using 500ml and 1000ml Flocare reservoirs explaining that we would be moving over to Sterifeed 250ml and 500ml reservoirs, and that they had two months in which to let me know if they had a specific reason to opt-out of the change. The advice about how to clean your baby's feeding equipment applies to all of the equipment, and whether you are using expressed breast milk or formula milk. How to sterilise baby feeding equipment Many paediatric home enteral feeding patients use feeds that are not pre-mixed and thus require a reservoir for powdered feeds to be reconstituted and stored in during feeding times. Some paediatric patients use reservoirs for water and medication administration too.

The brand name Sterifeed has been used by the company Medicare Colgate Ltd to supply hospitals around the world since 1994. Due to our scientific evidence based safety features and exceptional level of customer service Sterifeed are the global market leader for pasteurisation equipment for donor human milk with over 500 pasteurisers running in 60 different countries. I saw the banner on Connections about Sterifeed and our Hospital Account Manager, Sue Samuel, gave me more information and answered my many questions about the product. Reading through the patient and professionals guides really helped me decide to make the change. I discussed it with the professional lead for Dietetics at my Trust, and she supported my plans to switch the paediatric patients over. Steps taken to change over Sterifeed are the UK and an EU market leader for its range of milk Breast milk storage bottles and teats. With a large range of high quality products we have become the chosen supplier for hospitals worldwide.Sterifeed 130ml bottles (14189) may be reused following careful sterilisation. The recommended method is cold-water sterilisation tank, using Milton or similar sterilising liquid. Also suitable for most electric steam sterilisers. I had two key reasons for changing– to reduce plastic waste and to improve patient experience. She agreed to the change and agreed with the parents’ sentiments that single-use reservoirs are not environmentally friendly and rather wasteful. It's important to sterilise all your baby's feeding equipment, including bottles and teats, until they're at least 12 months old. Paediatric dietitan, Mikayla Profe-Fuchsloch discusses her experience and perspective with using Sterifeed reusable reservoirs in practice. The BDA's Corporate Member - Nutricia, have rolled out a sustainable initiative to combat one use plastics in home enteral feeding.