{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,21]],"date-time":"2026-09-21T21:29:45Z","timestamp":1790026185538,"version":"4.0.1"},"reference-count":52,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,7]],"date-time":"2025-06-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1749254400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Jane Coffin Childs Memorial Fund for Medical Research","award":["R41HD115506"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["R41HD115506"]}]},{"name":"Jane Coffin Childs Memorial Fund for Medical Research","award":["USDA 2024-70436-42372"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["USDA 2024-70436-42372"]}]},{"name":"Jane Coffin Childs Memorial Fund for Medical Research","award":["2024-70436-42372"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2024-70436-42372"]}]},{"name":"National Institutes of Health","award":["R41HD115506"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["R41HD115506"]}]},{"name":"National Institutes of Health","award":["USDA 2024-70436-42372"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["USDA 2024-70436-42372"]}]},{"name":"National Institutes of Health","award":["2024-70436-42372"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2024-70436-42372"]}]},{"name":"USDA","award":["R41HD115506"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["R41HD115506"]}]},{"name":"USDA","award":["USDA 2024-70436-42372"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["USDA 2024-70436-42372"]}]},{"name":"USDA","award":["2024-70436-42372"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2024-70436-42372"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Foods"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Breastmilk is known to provide optimal nutrition for infant growth and development. A cross-sectional analysis of nationally representative US data from 2016 to 2021 revealed that &gt;90% of lactating mothers reported using breast pumps to express milk. We conducted a survey of n = 1049 lactating or recently lactating individuals from a US nationally representative population to explore breastmilk storage practices among this group. The data revealed that 83% of respondents store breastmilk in their homes, with 68% using freezers to do so for &gt;1 month. The lowest available temperature in most household freezers is \u221220 \u00b0C, a temperature that is inadequate to maintain human milk\u2019s emulsified structure, leading to separation, degradation of fats, loss of key vitamins, and changes in palatability. We developed a first-of-its-kind high-throughput screening platform to identify food-derived compounds and combinations of compounds that, when added to human breastmilk, preserve fat content, retain antioxidant capacity, and reduce production of rancid-associated free fatty acids during extended freezer storage. Our screening identified pectin (0.5% w\/v) and ascorbic acid (100 \u03bcg\/mL) as optimal preservation agents. Compared to untreated controls, this formulation reduced glycerol production by approximately 60% and maintained antioxidant capacity after 6 months of storage at \u221220 \u00b0C. Lysozyme and protease activity were maintained at &gt;75% of the levels in fresh breastmilk. This formulation represents a lead for the development of safe and affordable frozen breastmilk shelf-life extenders for at-home use to increase the longevity of stored breastmilk.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/foods14122018","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,9]],"date-time":"2025-06-09T04:23:02Z","timestamp":1749442982000},"page":"2018","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Food-Derived Compounds Extend the Shelf Life of Frozen Human Milk"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Justin E.","family":"Silpe","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA"},{"name":"Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD 20815, USA"},{"name":"PumpKin Baby Inc., Princeton, NJ 08540, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Karla","family":"Damian-Medina","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"PumpKin Baby Inc., Princeton, NJ 08540, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0043-746X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bonnie L.","family":"Bassler","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA"},{"name":"Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD 20815, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,7]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"(2024, April 12). 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