QUESTIONS FREQUENTLY ASKED
ABOUT PASTEURISATION

Yes. The Sterifeed range of pasteurisers complies with Australian, NICE (UK), HMBANA (North American) Swedish and Italian published guidelines with an emphasis on rapid refrigerated cooling as part of the pasteurisation cycle.

Yes. Sterifeed Pasteurisers come complete with a data logger and probe to record the key milk temperature in the pasteurisation cycle.

• According to the milk banking guidelines it is an essential requirement to have a temperature control bottle to record and monitor the milk temperature.
• All Sterifeed Pasteurisers use a control bottle with probe and data logger, which takes readings of the milk temperature during the pasteurisation cycle every minute. This results in full data verification of every pasteurisation cycle and is crucial to prove you have safely treated the donor human milk.
• With the Sterifeed data logger and probe you have complete electronic records of your proof of treatment saved to your PC.
• There are pasteurisers on the market overseas that do not use a control bottle, probe and data logger.

Refrigerated cooling is essential to meet Australian and many other of the World’s human milk banking guidelines. Sterifeed Pasteurisers incorporate a rapid chilling cycle as an integral part of the pasteurisation sequence.

• Rapid refrigerated cooling with final pasteurisation cycle temperature of 4°C is the evidence-based scientific research requirement for the safe treatment of human milk.
• Rapid refrigerated cooling forms a crucial part of the pasteurisation process as it limits the regrowth of bacteria.
• Without a built in refrigerated cooling system the equipment would not be a pasteuriser but would be classified merely as a water bath.
• Many pasteurisers overseas are in reality water baths.

Tap water cooled pasteurisers do not meet milk banking guidelines.

• The key problem with tap water cooling is that tap water temperature varies from summer to winter and in Australia can be greater than 25°C.
• The method of placing tap water cooled bottles in a fridge to achieve the required temperature of 4°C is not a satisfactory nor practical solution, as putting a large number of bottles of warm milk into the fridge raises the fridge temperature and puts the milk at risk.

Submerging the entire bottle during the pasteurisation cycle is a key requirement to ensure the entire bottle’s contents is treated, including droplets of milk that adhere to the cap or neck.

• In Sterifeed Pasteurisers all bottles of milk are fully submerged during pasteurisation.
• Pasteurisers that do not submerge the entire bottle during the heating process do not meet many of the human milk banking guidelines.
• Some pasteuriser equipment is not capable of this.
• Studies have clearly shown that there is a risk that droplets captured in the cap area would not receive the same treatment as the rest of the bottle unless bottles are fully submerged.

Hermetic sealing provides an exceptional level of safety through avoidance of process risk, human error and tampering.

• We offer the Sterifeed safety Sealing System – bottles with foil safety seals that are activated (sealed) after filling, using an Induction Cap Sealer.
• Using hermetic foil seals has three advantages:
  • The foil seal provides 100% tamper evidence with regards to storage in publically accessible places and transportation within and between hospitals.
  • Pasteurisation capacity can be increased if smaller bottles sizes are chosen, as bottles can be stacked in double storey baskets.
  • Bottles can be safely submerged during rapid chilling and user errors by not tightening the bottle caps properly are eliminated.

Yes, pasteurisation temperature and time can be adjusted in accordance with a pre-agreed protocol.

The processing capacity of Sterifeed Pasteurisers is as follows:

T30 (max 3 litres – in 1 bottle basket)

• 12 bottles x 130 or 250ml

S90 (max 9 litres – in 2 bottle baskets)

• 36 or 72 (with foils seals in double storey baskets) bottles x 130ml, or
• 36 bottles x 250ml (not suitable for double storey baskets), or
• 48 bottles or 96 (with foil seal bottles in double storey baskets) bottles x 50ml

or a combination of the above in the two baskets

S180 (max 18 litres – in 4 bottle baskets)

• 72 or 144 (with foils seals in double storey baskets) bottles x 130ml, or
• 72 bottles x 250ml (not suitable for double storey baskets), or
• 96 bottles or 192 (with foil seal bottles in double storey baskets) bottles x 50ml

or a combination of the above in the four baskets

Yes, due to the special Sterifeed basket design it is possible to pasteurise 130ml bottles and 250ml bottles during the same cycle in our S90 and our S180 models and in the larger pasteurisers different bottle baskets can be used each having its own configuration for bottles.