Raw milk has touched a raw nerve in several countries. Issues regarding health benefits versus health risks battle with the desire for personal choice by consumers and farmers. What are the facts, and what are the opinions?
What is Raw Milk?
Raw milk has not been pasteurized; it has not been treated to eradicate microbes. Raw milk may be processed, for example by straining to remove any solid particles.
Is Raw Milk the same as Organic Milk?
Raw milk might or might not be "organic", which requires special care and feeding of the cows. In Iowa, for example, a specific OFPA certification is required for farmers selling more than $5,000 of organic products in one year, or selling to organizations rather directly to consumers.
Some organic milk is pasteurized, especially if it is sold through distributors.
What is Pasteurization?
Pasteurization is the process of treating milk, or any other food, to reduce the bacterial count in order to delay spoilage.
Usually milk is pasteurized in one of two ways. The longer process takes 30 minutes at about 140F (degrees Fahrenheit); the shorter takes 15 seconds at 165F. The precise temperature or timing may be regulated by a given jurisdiction.
"Ultra-pasteurized" milk takes only 2 seconds at 280F. Ultra-pasteurized milk should have a longer shelf life, up to about 30 days if unopened and stored at 34-38F.
What is Sterilized Cow Milk?
Sterilized cow milk has no living bacteria should be hermetically sealed to avoid later contamination. Pasteurized milk still has a few microbes, and is stored in non-sterile waxed cardboard cartons or in plastic jugs,
Why Pasteurize Cows' Milk?
Pasteurizing milk kills most bacteria, making it safer with a longer shelf life.
Most of the bacteria found in milk are harmless or beneficial, but infectious microbes may be present, due to an infection in the cow or introduced by later contamination.
Diseases caused by milk pathogens include diphtheria, dysentery, food poisoning, gastroenteritis and tuberculosis. Warm milk is an excellent growth medium for many of these germs.
Before it became standard to pasteurize cows' milk, many people caught these diseases; and the most vulnerable were children and infants.
The risks of contaminated milk increased as milk production and distribution became concentrated on farms and by dairies. In subsistence farming, a one-cow family would consume each day's milk each day. This leaves little time for germs to multiply. In our industrialized societies, milk must move from the barn, through distribution channels, to a supermarket, and then sit on a refrigerator shelf for several days.
Of course, pasteurized milk was first available before the general availability of modern refrigeration.
What Opinions Favour Raw Milk?
University of Wisconsin-Madison researcher M. Bell reported on interviews with a dozen consumers and a dozen producers of raw milk, as well as other interested parties. One incentive for dairy farmers is that selling raw milk directly to a consumer is more profitable than selling in bulk to a dairy.
Consumers cited health reasons, the sense of connection with their food producer, and the right of a consumer to make one's own informed choice.
This Author's Analysis of the Issues Involving Raw Milk
This analysis includes emotional values, health concerns and public policy issues regarding the raw milk controversy.
It will avoid discussing the flavour of raw milk versus pasteurized milk, which is literally a matter of individual taste.
The Emotional Value of Connecting with Food Producers
This sense of connection is similar for those who shop in urban farmers' markets, or patronize the local greengrocer over the mega-mall supermarket.
While it is educational and perhaps emotionally fulfilling to make a personal connection with one's food producers, a similar experience may be obtained by visiting a local dairy farmer and also having a tour of the dairy that pasteurizes the milk.
Farmers have legitimate sanitation concerns about visitors, however. Dairy barns must be clean, and dairy farmers will not appreciate people who may carry bacteria from other sites.
Health Concerns Regarding Raw Milk
History shows that poorly handled, contaminated raw milk presents a serious health hazard. Modern advocates for raw milk rightly say that cleanliness and handling standards have improved. There may be systemic limits to these improvements, however.
Suppose one farmer milks one cow for his (or her) own family's consumption. That farmer will monitor the cow's health, handle the milk in a clean manner, and refrigerate the raw milk promptly. Presumably the milk will not languish for days before being used.
However, in a modern dairy barn, many cows will be milked, perhaps by different employees. While the cows will be monitored, it is possible for an infection to begin for a day or more before being noticed. All the milk from all the cows will be stored in one or more common refrigeration units, so contaminants or microbes from one cow will be spread to all the milk.
Likewise, if raw milk is to become a commodity at a grocery store, it will be packaged and distributed through something like a modern dairy company. One tanker will carry milk from several farms, each with many cows, to one packaging plant. If any one cow is diseased, this may be shared throughout the whole distribution network.
The more handling and distribution is required, the more chances would exist for the milk to warm up and allow harmful bacteria to multiply.
Health Benefits from Raw Milk
As noted in "What is Probiotic, What is Prebiotic, and Why People Should Care", some health benefits may indeed accrue from eating probiotic bacteria. Probiotics may indeed be found in raw milk, in much greater numbers than in pasteurized milk.
Some argue that raw cows' milk is more digestible than pasteurized. Others claim that, if anything, pasteurization makes milk more easily digested.
Some people with milk allergies claim that they tolerate raw milk. This author would welcome readers' comments pointing to research published on this subject.
Health Concerns Regarding Pasteurized Milk
As the Cornell article notes, milk might not be pasteurized for several days. It is quite possible for harmful bacteria to retain a foothold in pasteurized milk, or to be introduced later, and then cause illness in humans. While spoiled milk has a distinct aroma and texture, some of the disease pathogens might not be noticeable.
Some people are allergic to milk.
Health Benefits from Milk
Milk is a source for vitamin D and calcium, as well as some protein, vitamin E, and B vitamins. These nutritional benefits are found, to some degree, in both raw milk and pasteurized milk.
Public Policy Regarding Raw Milk
The United States, Canada, some European countries and New Zealand are significant milk producers. Each jurisdiction has its own laws, and its own public debate over raw milk.
Public officials often favour banning raw milk, since it eliminates one potential vector for food contamination and human illness.
However, the consumer rights standpoint is equally compelling. Why interfere with a well-informed consumer making a purchase from a responsible producer?
In a country with "socialized medicine", such as Canada, any tax payer may argue that people falling ill due to legalized raw milk should pay for their own medical care.
Farmers and distributors of raw milk may require additional insurance to cover potential lawsuits.
Recommendation
It would seem safer if raw milk were to remain a specialty item, rather than be broadly available through the large grocery chains. There is a great deal of risk in mass distribution and consumption of a product whose essence is to not be treated to minimize the risk of spreading pathogens.
Centigrade Equivalents to Fahrenheit Temperatures
Temperatures cited in this article:
- 34F= 1C
- 38F = 3C
- 140F = 60C
- 165F = 74C
- 280F = 138C
Disclaimer: The information contained in this article is for educational purposes only and should not be used for diagnosis or to guide treatment without the opinion of a health professional. Any reader who is concerned about his or her health should contact a doctor for advice.
References:
- Michael Bell, University of Wisconsin-Madison, "Perceptions of Raw Milk’s Risks and Benefits (Research Brief #83)", July 2010, referenced Oct. 2, 2011.
- Alvarez et al, Ohio State University, "Preserving Beverages: Water, Juice and Milk", 2009, PDF referenced Oct. 2, 2011.
- Cornell University, "Pasteurized versus Ultra-Pasteurized Milk - Why Such Long Sell-By Dates?", version "10-10-07", PDF referenced Oct. 2, 2011.
- Iowa State University, "Organic Dairy Production Planning Concepts", Oct. 2007, PDF referenced Oct. 3, 2011.
- Iowa State University, "Organic Milk: Nutritional Benefits", 2008, referenced Oct. 3, 2011.
Mike DeHaan - Copyright (c) Mike DeHaan, B. Math., of DeHaan Services. Well written and well researched freelance articles; ghost writing for clients.
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