Cambodia on Wednesday banned the export of breast milk following international outcry after a local newspaper revealed it had been exported to the US.
The decision was announced by state news agency, Agence Kampuche Presse, in a letter from Secretary of State, Ngor Hong Ly.
“Cambodia is not that poor to sell breast milk from mothers,” Ngor Hong Ly stated in the letter dated March 28, according to AKP.
The story first came to international attention in December 2015 when the Phnom Penh Post, an English daily newspaper in Cambodia, reported on the trade.
The newspaper reported that Utah-based Ambrosia Labs was selling breast milk frozen in Cambodia and pasteurized.
A pack of 10 five-ounce sachets (around 140 grams each) retailed for $195 online, while a pack of 60 costs $980, according to the company website.
Cambodian women were paid between $7 and $10 a day for their contributions, according to the Post.
Ambrosia Labs markets to US mothers who cannot produce their own milk.
Other websites that sell breast milk include onlythebreast.com, which connects mothers buying, selling or donating their milk.
US magazine Men’s Health reported in 2015 that bodybuilders also consume breast milk as a “superfood’’ because of its high-calorie and nutrient-dense attributes.
The US Food and Drug Administration does not regulate the trade, but it is legal in the US, where non-profit donation banks also existed to collect human milk used in neo-natal intensive care units.
NAN.
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