Our Process

Freeze-Drying Your Breastmilk into Shelf-Stable Powder

Our critical mission is to preserve the nutrients in your breastmilk while transforming it into a versatile, safe, and long-lasting powder. Booby Food is also the first breastmilk freeze-drying service in the world to have passed federal regulatory standards for safety. Every step of the way we've obsessed over the details to make sure your precious liquid gold is treated with the respect and care it deserves.

Preserving Those Nutrients

Booby Food uses a process called sublimation to freeze-dry your breastmilk into powder. Freeze-drying uses low temperature and pressure systems to turn the ice water in your breastmilk to vapour without thawing or melting. This is how nutrients are protected and preserved.

Fun Fact

Freeze-drying is not the same as dehydrating, which uses high temperatures to evaporate water from foods, destroying heat-sensitive nutrients.

Learn About Our Safety Protocols

Some companies tote that they're "FDA Registered" which may make you think "FDA Approved" but these two designations are NOT the same thing.

Booby Food Sanitation Methods

Sanitization

All equipment and chambers are triple cleaned, disinfected and sanitized after EVERY batch.

Federally Approved

Booby Food is THE ONLY Federally Licensed breastmilk freeze-drying service.
What does FDA "Registered" really mean?

Private Processing

Your breastmilk is exclusively handled and always in its own dedicated chamber. We never EVER place your breastmilk along with another mama's stash.

How Freeze-Drying Breastmilk Works

1. Your frozen breastmilk arrives at our facility

Upon arrival, your frozen breastmilk goes through an initial screening process, including temperature verification and bag inspection.

Our Quality Assurance team documents your breastmilk bag’s information including the weight, brand, collection date and logs any additional notes you’ve written. Eg: babe’s 1st tooth, one year pumping. We photograph the front AND the back of Every. Single. Bag.

Your frozen breastmilk is transferred to one of our temperature-controlled walk-in freezers where it’s monitored regularly throughout the day until your service date.

2. Prepping milk for sublimation (“freeze-drying”)

We never thaw or melt your breastmilk prior to freeze drying. Bags are carefully removed, and your breastmilk is broken down and combined – while still frozen!

Fun Fact

Research shows that combining your breastmilk together before freeze-drying results in 70% LESS bacterial contamination AND results in 30% MORE reliable nutrient levels (when compared to keeping your breastmilk bags separated).

3. Every Mama’s milk is ALWAYS processed separately

A key difference between Booby Food and other freeze-drying services – your milk is never, EVER, in our equipment with another mama’s milk.

4. And, so it begins - The Deep Freeze!

Your frozen breastmilk is placed into a specialized deep freeze chamber reaching -40F.

During this process, each batch is regularly monitored both onsite and offsite using remote surveillance.

5. Locked, Loaded + Sealed

A specially designed vacuum sucks all the air out of the deep freeze chamber, lowering the pressure. This creates a 100% closed system, sealing off any outside airflow from entering and preventing bacterial contamination.

6. This is Where the Magic Happens

Cycles of temperature-regulated air transform ice crystals into vapour - never melting or thawing your breastmilk!

The frozen water inside your breastmilk goes from a solid to a gas, skipping the liquid phase - this is the magic of SUBLIMATION!

About 48 hours later, what’s left is YOUR beautiful, soft, and nutrient-dense powder.

7. Quality Control, Baby!

Our Quality Assurance team uses specialized safety testing, including water activity, to verify your freeze-dried breastmilk is shelf stable, long-term.

This safety testing provides scientific measurements to prevent yeast, mold and bacterial growth occurring in your breastmilk while stored.

Once verified, your powdered breastmilk is packaged into convenient, resealable, food grade Mylar pouches, designed to protect against moisture, oxygen and light – preserving your solid gold for years to come!

8. Optional – Lab Certified Testing

Booby Food offers an optional breastmilk nutritional test using a third-party lab. You can learn exactly how many calories, total fat, protein and carbohydrates your freeze-dried breastmilk contains. Receive a nutritional facts handbook – specific to YOU.

Fun Fact

Your lab-certified results can be used to fortify bottles! Formula is no longer the only option. Share your lab-certified results with your healthcare practitioner to create a custom fortification plan for your babe, using your very own freeze-dried breastmilk!

9. Mama, I’m Coming Home!

Your Booby Food is sent back via express shipping with FedEx, delivered right back to your front door.

You will be notified via email with a secure shipping tracking number.