PHNOM PENH – The Cabinet of Cambodia has ordered the country’s Health Ministry to “immediately prevent the purchasing and exporting of breast milk,” following reports that impoverished mothers were selling their milk to raise their incomes, reported time.com.
The order issued through a letter said, “Although Cambodia is poor and [life is] difficult, it is not at the level that it will sell breast milk from mothers.”
Earlier, the Cambodian government placed an export ban on a Utah-based company called Ambrosia Labs. Ambrosia reportedly bought milk from women in Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh, take it to the U.S. for pasteurizing, and then sold it to American mothers at $20 per 5-oz. (150 ml) pack.
The company has previously stated in interviews that its business boost the income for Cambodian mothers and encouraged them to continue breastfeeding, while helping to fill milk shortages in the U.S.
