Milk, that ubiquitous white beverage routinely paired with cookies and poured on cereal, is considered a healthy, wholesome choice by many. It's loaded with calcium and also provides protein and other nutrients. But raw milk -- milk that comes straight from a goat or cow and isn't pasteurized -- can give you more than you bargained for in the form of illness-inducing bacteria.
Pasteurization
Unpasteurized or raw milk, which is sometimes called natural milk or unprocessed milk, hasn't gone through the germ-killing process of pasteurization. Louis Pasteur invented the process to keep his beer from becoming sour, and other scientists realized its potential to prevent disease. Tuberculosis, typhoid fever and diphtheria were spread by milk in the early 1900s and milk pasteurization began in the 20s and 30s to combat these diseases. During the pasteurization process, milk is heated to 161 degrees F for 20 seconds, which kills illness-causing bacteria.
Purported Benefits of Raw Milk
There's a growing appeal of farmers' markets, organic produce, home vegetable gardens and minimally processed foods, and some people believe raw milk fits into that paradigm.
Raw milk drinkers believe that the pasteurization process destroys nutrients, making unpasteurized milk a healthier and more natural choice, but the process does not significantly alter nutrients, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Claims that raw milk builds immunity and cures autism, cancer, asthma and Crohn's disease lack scientific evidence. Some say raw milk tastes better, but that's a matter of personal preference.
Dangers of Raw Milk
A cold glass of raw milk along with your freshly baked cookies might not seem so appealing when it could be contaminated with harmful or even deadly bacteria from an animal's fecal matter. Raw milk and other raw dairy products have sickened more than 1,000 people from 1998 to 2005, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Salmonella, toxin-producing E. coli, Brucella, Listeria, Shigella and Staphylococcus aureus are some types of bacteria that have contaminated raw milk and caused illness. Infection with Campylobacter, the most common sickness-inducing bacteria in raw dairy products, can cause bloody diarrhea and even paralysis in rare cases. Several children were near death after infection with E. coli O157:H7, the same dangerous germ implicated in deaths from undercooked ground beef.
An Underground Market
In 2009, 29 states allowed some raw milk sales, although usually not in grocery stores. Unpasteurized milk is illegal in the remaining states due to public health concerns, but that doesn't stop some who want it from getting it. Raw milk aficionados drive for hours across state lines to purchase it, while others buy shares of cows or goats kept on farms, then pick up the illegal product at planned drop-off points. Several people were sickened with Campylobacter in North Carolina in 2011 after consuming raw milk illegally transported from South Carolina, where it is legal.
References
- NPR; Drinking Raw Milk Is Worth The Risk, Advocates Say; April Fulton; July 19, 2010
- Real Raw Milk Facts: Raw Milk Q&A
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Food Safety and Raw Milk
- Bloomberg Businessweek; Illnesses in NC linked to raw milk from SC dairy; July 19, 2011
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration; News and Events; March 1, 2007
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