Got (pasteurized) milk?
In March 2010, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and several state departments of public health reported at least 12 confirmed cases of campylobacteriosis, a foodborne illness, in southern Michigan residents. The ages of those afflicted range from 2-51 years; the majority are children under four years old. Campylobacteriosis causes diarrhea (often bloody), fever, and abdominal cramps and may last for 1-2 weeks. As of March 26, no hospitalizations were reported.
The illnesses were linked to the consumption of raw (unpasteurized) milk from Forest Grove Dairy in Middlebury, Indiana. Although this is the most recent outbreak of food poisoning from raw milk, it’s not the only one. According to the Centers for Disease Control, between 1998 and 2008, there were 85 outbreaks of foodborne illness attributed to the consumption of raw milk, resulting in a total of 1,614 reported illnesses, 187 hospitalizations and two deaths. While most healthy people recover from foodborne illness, some can develop symptoms that are severe, chronic, or even life-threatening.
These incidents point to the importance of pasteurization as a food safety measure. Pasteurization of milk is a process that kills harmful bacteria by heating milk to a specific temperature for a set time. Pasteurization kills harmful bacteria that cause salmonellosis, campylobacteriosis, listeriosis, typhoid fever, tuberculosis, diphtheria and brucellosis. These foodborne illnesses are especially dangerous to pregnant women, infants, young children, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems.
In a public health alert issued by the Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) on March 19, 2010, Dr. Gregory Holzman, chief medical executive of MDCH, says, “Raw or unpasteurized milk and dairy products may carry many types of disease- causing germs such as campylobacter, salmonella and E. coli. People need to be aware that raw milk and raw dairy products have not been heat treated or pasteurized to kill germs.”
Bacteria are normally present in the environment. On dairy farms, modern sanitation practice result in the production of high quality milk with bacteria counts well below the standards, however, it’s not possible to keep all bacteria out of raw milk. That’s why pasteurization is crucial.
MDCH’s public health alert states that the raw milk from Forest Grove Dairy was distributed by Family Farms Cooperative in Vandalia, Michigan. Family Farms Cooperative operates a “cow share” program where members own shares of a cow and in return receive raw dairy products. The plastic containers of raw milk from Forest Grove Dairy include a warning message on the cap indicating that the product is raw milk and not pasteurized.
According to the Michigan Department of Agriculture, the sale of raw milk is illegal in Michigan (it was officially banned in 1948). However, there are no regulations clearly outlining the legality of cow share programs in Michigan. The Attorney General has advised that the 1948 law does not take into account or clearly outline the parameters for “raw milk sale” aside from the ruling that raw milk cannot be sold directly to consumers. Cow share programs are not inspected or regulated under Michigan law.
Proponents of raw milk believe that it’s more healthful than pasteurized milk. They claim that pasteurization destroys enzymes and vitamins in milk and makes milk more difficult to digest. Sound science does not support these claims. According to the FDA, research shows no meaningful difference in the nutritional values of pasteurized and unpasteurized milk.
John Partridge, PhD, associate professor and extension specialist in the Department of Food Science and Nutrition at Michigan State University, agrees. “There’s no definitive research that shows a significant difference in the composition of raw and pasteurized milk,” he says. “Some enzymes and vitamins are inactivated, but that doesn’t translate into a significant difference in terms of diet quality: Milk is not a significant source of those particular enzymes and vitamins to begin with.”
Drinking raw milk is a serious health risk. It’s also a personal choice. However, it’s irresponsible to make the choice for others. It’s not safe to serve raw milk to others, especially children, pregnant women, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems. There’s no reason to play Russian roulette with raw milk.
Karen Giles-Smith, MS, RD, is a registered dietitian and freelance writer based in Mason, Michigan. Visit her Web site and blog at TheWellnessWriter.com
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People drank raw milk for thousands of years and it was not a health risk. Why would it suddenly become so horrible in the last 70 years? Perhaps the problem is not the raw state, but the way cows are raised in feedlots or the mass industry model. It just doesn’t make sense that it is suddenly unsafe when it was not only considered safe but extrememly healthful for thousands of years in many, many cultures.
http://www.realmilk.com/rawmilkoverview.html
I didn’t see any real data or evidence about the incidence of illness or other problems about drinking raw milk. Just concerns voiced by professionals who are really unfamiliar with the principles and process.
People did drink raw milk for thousands of years and it was a health risk. Tuberculosis, e. coli and other food-borne pathogens were silent and not-so-silent killers before pastuerization made milk safe to drink. There was even the recent outbreak that is described by Karen in her article that traced the pathogen to raw milk! And as far as how dairy cows are housed, they are kept cleaner, fed a more nutritious and balanced diet and receive regular veterinarian care that exceeds some of the care our own children recieve. Call up a local dairy farm and I would bet he would welcome you to come see how his family farm, yes most dairy farms are still family operations, take care of their cows to produce a safe, nutritious product to feed our families and the world.
That’s why i only buy milk from organically fed cows… Just like what they say “you are what you eat” i think what they feed to the cows can also affect the milk that it produce…
Did you know that hundreds of thousands of people have gotten sick from PASTEURIZED milk in the last 20 years? (Check the statistics if you don’t believe me). Let’s compare the numbers folks and stop bashing REAL milk.
Read “The Untold Story of Milk” by Ron Schmid. Gives some good insight into raw and pasteurized milk.
Organically fed milk cows do not produce any better milk than regular feed cows. The only thing it does is produce costlier milk. First of all, no farmer is going to use antibiotics on their cows unless they are sick. Secondly the feed you cannot guarantee it to be “organic” as all feed that is stored for any length of time is fumigated with phosphene gas.
So there goes your organic when that happens.
Ra w milk is better for you and is healthier. But you can’t be a idiot and drink just any raw milk.
Sanitary practices are paramount. That is the reason i have not been sick off of any raw milk in the last 50 years. Sanitary practices, wash wash wash everything in bleach. Use soap n water to wash udders and teats and make sure they are clean. Wash all containers and utensils in bleach thta come in contact with milk. use jars for storage instead of plastic. If you are using plastic, you must at least fill with 1tsp bleach and fill with hot water. But you still risk problems as plastic cannot be totlaly cleaned like glass can.
No matter what you think about raw milk vs pasteurized milk, we all assume a certain amount of risk eating anything (washed pre-packaged salad, cantaloupes, spinach, pasteurized milk, raw milk) Even stuff from our own gardens. What is important, I believe, is that we have a CHOICE! There are very safe practices put in place for raw milk. I have a brain and I have done the research, if I choose to consume raw milk, that’s my business. I take responsibility for the outcome. Nobody says “Hey, we should stop drinking pasteurized milk” when an pathogen outbreak happens with it. There will always be more scrutiny of something that is outside of “mainstream”. Although it hasn’t always been the case, raw milk in currently not mainstream. I hope that changes.