Milk is also the perfect environment to grow bacteria. Infant feeding equipment that has not been properly cleaned can be a source of infection.
A report by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) advices that the thorough cleaning and sterilising of equipment used for feeding young babies is critical in avoiding infection. The EFSA recommends the use of both chemical and heating methods for sterilising.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines of 2007 also follow these recommendations. This is true whether you breastfeed your baby or not.
How long? At Milton we advise parents to sterilise all baby feeding equipment until the baby’s first birthday.