EHA Consulting Group, Inc. - Raw Milk: Public Health Enemy or Nature's Gift?

25/01/2008 The past several years have witnessed increasing debate, regulation and outbreaks of food borne disease (www.ehagroup.com/epidemiology/illnesses/) due to raw or unpasteurized milk. Proponents of raw milk tout health benefits that they claim are not possible when milk has been pasteurized -- a process of heating the milk to 161°F for 15-20 seconds, which kills many bacteria that are present in the raw milk. These organisms include Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, E.coli O157:H7 and other E. coli, as well as Campylobacter jejuni, just to name a few.

"Significant Risks" Associated with Raw Milk Consumption

The public health community has been united in stating that consumption of raw milk is not healthful, but, in fact, is harmful. This matter has been litigated and, in the matter of Public Citizen vs. Heckler in 1986, the Federal District Court concluded that the record presents "overwhelming evidence of the risks associated with the consumption of raw milk both certified and otherwise."

The court also stated that the evidence "conclusively shows that raw and certified raw milk are unsafe and there is no longer any question of fact as to whether raw milk is unsafe." This position continues to be supported by most all public health officials in the United States, with some states actually enacting bans on the sale of raw milk. In 1987, the FDA (www.fda.gov/) implemented a ban on the interstate sale of raw milk; however, states are free to regulate or prohibit the sale of raw milk.

The "Good Bacteria" Argument

Proponents of raw milk insist that pasteurization kills "good bacteria" and enhances the growth of harmful bacteria. However, there are lots of microbes that are harmless to the cow that are quite harmful to humans. One such organism that people often neglect to identify with raw milk is Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

The individuals who advocate the position that good bacteria are also killed with the pathogenic bacteria have yet to identify any beneficial bacteria that are lost, since scientifically there are none. Some have even stated that pasteurized milk increases the risk of diseases such as cancer and osteoporosis, citing as proof the fact that cancer rates were much lower before pasteurization was mandated. This is obviously misleading, since there is not a single cause of cancer. Our surveillance for cancer, our ability to rapidly detect cancer and treat cancer, and our longevity (with more individuals growing older who may develop cancer) have markedly changed in the past 100 years.