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The risks of raw milk

Several states have reported illnesses related to raw milk this year including a recent E. coli outbreak in Michigan and Salmonella in Utah.

Stan Moore with Michigan State University Extension tells Brownfield the few studies that claim health benefits of consuming raw milk are not conclusive.  “Unpasteurized milk is definitely a higher risk, some studies show 150 times greater.”

Sales of raw milk are currently regulated by each individual state and prohibited in almost half of the U.S.  Federal law prohibits the interstate sale and distribution of raw milk.  “The process is to ensure that the safety of milk for drinkers by drastically reducing bacteria like tuberculosis, brucellosis, things like Q-fever, Salmonella, Toxoplasma, E. coli, Campylobacter, Listeria, Cryptosporidia—are among many that it helps to reduce.”

Moore says pasteurization was developed over 150 years ago to reduce the risk of foodborne illnesses and research has proven the process does not degrade the healthful benefits of milk.

AUDIO: Interview Stan Moore