“Most of all shipping via Royal Mail is not temperature controlled and that’s when bacteria multiply. You have no idea who or what is at the other end of the transaction.
“What’s new is this idea of remote sale from a total stranger you will never meet and therefore aren’t screening or building trust with at all. Recently, I have observed, and what certainly ramped up very rapidly in the last week, is the rise of listings on auction sites and online social marketplaces with buy-it-now prices, minimal information about the seller, and no referencing to any safety advice or information whatsoever,” she said, adding there also appears to be an increase in listings offering to post the milk rather than courier it. Dr Sarah Steele, a public health researcher at the University of Cambridge said that while human breast milk had been sold for some time on online platforms, it had normally been listed with some information about the potential risks.īut in recent weeks – after reports on social media of women earning as much as £10,000 from selling their milk to bodybuilders – she had noticed a marked rise in the number of adverts.