Hema Quebec is admitting that it has been forced to discard up to 60% of the breast milk it has been collecting for premature babies.
QMI reports that at least 1,400 litres of breast milk donated by nursing mothers since the program started in 2014 had to be discarded, most due to bacteriological contamination at source.
On top of that, up to 1,800 litres were needed just to test equipment, and could not be given to babies afterward.
The organization says things are going better with its collection program now, but the discard rate remain high,at more than twice the objective of 8%.