Raw milk is milk Milk is a translucent white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It provides the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. The early lactation milk is known as colostrum, and carries the mother's antibodies to the baby. It can reduce the risk of many diseases in the baby. The that has not been pasteurized Pasteurization is a process of heating a food, usually liquid, to a specific temperature for a definite length of time, and then cooling it immediately. This process slows microbial growth in food. The process was named after its creator, French chemist and microbiologist Louis Pasteur. The first pasteurization test was completed by Louis Pasteur or homogenized Homogenization is intensive mixing of mutually insoluble phases to obtain a suspension or emulsion.
Contents |
History
Humans consumed raw milk exclusively prior to the industrial revolution and the discovery of the pasteurization Pasteurization is a process of heating a food, usually liquid, to a specific temperature for a definite length of time, and then cooling it immediately. This process slows microbial growth in food. The process was named after its creator, French chemist and microbiologist Louis Pasteur. The first pasteurization test was completed by Louis Pasteur process in 1864. During the industrial revolution large populations congregated into urban areas detached from the agricultural lifestyle. Up until that point, individuals and families owned their own goats, cows, and other livestock and milked them on a daily basis.
Pasteurization Pasteurization is a process of heating a food, usually liquid, to a specific temperature for a definite length of time, and then cooling it immediately. This process slows microbial growth in food. The process was named after its creator, French chemist and microbiologist Louis Pasteur. The first pasteurization test was completed by Louis Pasteur was first used in the United States in the 1890s after the discovery of germ theory The germ theory of disease, also called the pathogenic theory of medicine, is a theory that proposes that microorganisms are the cause of many diseases. Although highly controversial when first proposed, it is now a cornerstone of modern medicine and clinical microbiology, leading to such important innovations as antibiotics and hygienic practices to control the hazards of highly contagious bacterial diseases including bovine tuberculosis Mycobacterium bovis is a slow-growing , aerobic bacterium and the causative agent of tuberculosis in cattle (known as bovine TB). Related to M. tuberculosis—the bacteria which causes tuberculosis in humans—M. bovis can also jump the species barrier and cause tuberculosis in humans and brucellosis Brucellosis, also called Bang's disease, Gibraltar fever, Malta fever, Maltese fever, Mediterranean fever, rock fever, or undulant fever, is a highly contagious zoonosis caused by ingestion of unsterilized milk or meat from infected animals, or close contact with their secretions. Transmission from human to human, for example through sexual that was thought to be easily transmitted to humans through the drinking of raw milk.[1] Initially after the scientific discovery of bacteria The bacteria ( [bækˈtɪəriə] ; singular: bacterium)[α] are a large group of single-celled, prokaryote microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria have a wide range of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals. Bacteria are ubiquitous in every habitat on Earth, growing in soil, acidic hot springs, radioactive waste,, no product testing was available to determine if a farmer's milk was safe or infected, so all milk was treated as potentially contagious. After the first test was developed, some farmers actively worked to prevent their infected animals from being killed and removed from food production, or would falsify the test results so that their animals would appear to be free of infection.[2]
When it was first used, pasteurization was thought to make raw milk from any source safer to consume. More recently, farm sanitation has greatly improved and effective testing has been developed for bovine tuberculosis and other diseases, making other approaches to ensuring safety of milk more feasible; however pasteurization continues to be widely used to prevent infected milk from entering the food supply.
Recent advances in the analysis of milk-borne diseases have enabled scientists to track the DNA of the infectious bacteria to the cows on the farms that supplied the raw milk[3] . This technique eliminates much of the debate of the merits of safe milk practices.
Raw vs. pasteurized debate
Main article: United States raw milk debate The raw milk debate is an issue of public food safety vs. health benefits, and whether all milk must be pasteurized and homogenized before it can be consumed, or if there are safe ways for raw milk to be made available for public consumptionThe raw vs. pasteurized debate places the alleged health benefits of consuming raw milk against the disease threat of unpasteurized milk. Although agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is a United States federal agency under the Department of Health and Human Services based in Atlanta, Georgia. It works to protect public health and safety by providing information to enhance health decisions, and it promotes health through partnerships with state health departments and other (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration The Food and Drug Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, one of the United States federal executive departments, responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the regulation and supervision of food safety, tobacco products, dietary supplements, prescription and over-the-counter (FDA), and other worldwide regulatory agencies say that pathogens A pathogen, (from Greek πάθος pathos "suffering, passion", and γἰγνομαι gignomai (gen-) "I give birth to") an infectious agent, or more commonly germ, is a biological agent that causes disease to its host. There are several substrates and pathways whereby pathogens can invade a host; the principal pathways have from raw milk make it unsafe to consume,[4] while some organizations say that raw milk can be produced hygienically, and that it has health benefits that are destroyed in the pasteurization process, though this latter statement is not supported by research. [5]
Legal status
Worldwide
Regulation of the commercial distribution of packaged raw milk varies across the world. Some countries have complete bans, but many had partial bans that do not restrict the purchase of raw milk bought directly from the farmer. Raw milk is sometimes distributed through a cow share program, wherein the consumer owns a share in the dairy animal or the herd, and can be considered to be consuming milk from their own animal. Raw milk is sometimes marketed for animal or pet consumption, or for other uses such as soap making in places where sales for human consumption are prohibited.
In Africa
Although milk consumption in Africa is fairly low compared to the rest of the world, in tribes where milk consumption is popular, such as the Maasai The Maasai are a Nilotic ethnic group of semi-nomadic people located in Kenya and northern Tanzania. Due to their distinctive customs and dress and residence near the many game parks of East Africa, they are among the most well known of African ethnic groups. They speak Maa, a member of the Nilo-Saharan language family that is related to Dinka and tribe, milk is typically consumed unpasteurized.
In Europe
A bottle of green-top milkMilk is typically consumed unpasteurized in rural areas of Europe, and raw milk can typically be found in small amounts at stores in large cities. Raw milk cheese is legally produced in most European countries.[citation needed]
Great Britain
Distribution of raw milk is illegal in Scotland Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the southwest. In addition to the mainland, Scotland. While it is legal in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, the only registered producers are in England.[6] About 200 producers sell raw, or "green top" milk direct to consumers, either at the farm, at a Farmers' market Farmers' market produce is renowned for being locally grown and very fresh. People argue farmers' markets allow farmers to pick produce at the peak of flavor, preserve the nutritional content of fresh produce, and since locally grown produce does not travel as far to get to your table, the difference in mileage saves fossil fuels, or through a delivery service. The bottle must display the warning "this product has not been heat-treated and may contain organisms harmful to health", and the dairy must conform to higher hygiene standards than dairies producing only pasteurised milk.
It is however, still illegal under the Food Safety Act for Unpasteurised milk to be sold on the High Street, via shops or supermarkets in England, Wales or Northern Ireland.
In Asia
In rural areas of Asia where milk consumption is popular, milk is typically unpasteurized. In large cities of Asia, raw milk, especially from water buffalo The water buffalo or domestic Asian water buffalo is a large bovine animal, frequently used as livestock in southern Asia, and also widely in South America, southern Europe, north Africa, and elsewhere, is typical. In most countries of Asia, laws prohibiting raw milk are nonexistent or rarely enforced.[citation needed] However while milk is sold raw in these areas household milk is usually consumed after boiling, which makes it safe for daily consumption.[original research?]
In Australia
The sale of raw milk for drinking purposes is illegal in all states and territories in Australia For at least 40,000 years before European settlement in the late 18th century, Australia was inhabited by indigenous Australians, who belonged to one or more of the roughly 250 language groups. After sporadic visits by fishermen from the immediate north and discovery by Dutch explorers in 1606, Australia's eastern half was claimed by Britain in 177, as is all raw cheese. This has been circumvented somewhat by selling raw milk as bath milk. An exception to the cheese rule has been made recently for two Roquefort Roquefort , sometimes spelled Rochefort in English, is a sheep milk blue cheese from the south of France, and together with Bleu d'Auvergne, Stilton and Gorgonzola is one of the world's best-known blue cheeses.[citation needed] Though similar cheeses are produced elsewhere, European cheese law dictates that only those cheeses aged in the natural cheeses. There is some indication of share owning cows, allowing the "owners" to consume the raw milk, but also evidence that the government is trying to close this loophole.[7][8]
In Canada
The sale of raw milk directly to consumers is prohibited in Canada The land occupied by Canada was inhabited for millennia by various groups of Aboriginal peoples. Beginning in the late 15th century, British and French expeditions explored, and later settled, along the Atlantic coast. France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763 after the Seven Years' War. In 1867, with the union of three[9] under the Food and Drug Regulations since 1991.
Section B.08.002.2 (1)
| “ | no person shall sell the normal lacteal secretion obtained from the mammary gland of the cow, genus Bos, or of any other animal, or sell a dairy product made with any such secretion, unless the secretion or dairy product has been pasteurized by being held at a temperature and for a period that ensure the reduction of the alkaline phosphatase activity so as to meet the tolerances specified in official method MFO-3, Determination of Phosphatase Activity in Dairy Products, dated November 30, 1981.[10] | ” |
Provincial laws also forbid the sale and distribution of raw milk. For instance, Ontario's Health Protection and Promotion Act, subsection 18(1) reads: "No person shall sell, offer for sale, deliver or distribute milk or cream that has not been pasteurized or sterilized in a plant that is licensed under the Milk Act or in a plant outside Ontario that meets the standards for plants licensed under the Milk Act."
In January, 2010, a dairy farmer named Michael Schmidt was found not guilty on 19 charges relating to the sale of raw milk by Justice of the Peace Paul Kowarsky of the Ontario Court of Justice.[11] Schmidt argued that he was not actually selling raw milk but rather making it available to its true owners, called "cowshare owners" who had purchased a share in the dairy herd and therefore owned the milk. As of July, 2010, that case is under appeal. Schmidt is receiving pro bono legal services from the Canadian Constitution Foundation to defend the appeal.[12] The appeal will also raise the question of whether the ban on raw milk violates any constitutional rights of Canadians.
Meanwhile, Canada does permit the sale of raw milk cheeses Cheese consists of proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. It is produced by coagulation of the milk protein casein. Typically, the milk is acidified and addition of the enzyme rennet causes coagulation. The solids are separated and pressed into final form. Some cheeses have molds on the rind or throughout that are aged over 60 days. In 2009, the province of Quebec Quebec is the second most populous province, after Ontario. Most inhabitants live in urban areas near the Saint Lawrence River between Montreal and Quebec City, the capital. English-speaking communities and English-language institutions are concentrated in the west of the island of Montreal but are also significantly present in the Outaouais, the modified regulations to allow raw milk cheeses aged less than 60 days provided stringent safeguards are met.[13]
In the United States
Main article: United States raw milk debate The raw milk debate is an issue of public food safety vs. health benefits, and whether all milk must be pasteurized and homogenized before it can be consumed, or if there are safe ways for raw milk to be made available for public consumptionTwenty-eight U.S. states do not prohibit sales of raw milk. Cow shares can be found, and raw milk purchased for animal consumption in many states where retail for human consumption is prohibited.
Most states impose restrictions on raw milk suppliers due to concerns about safety. As of 2009, the state of Connecticut has discussed creating possible restrictions upon the sale of raw milk to farms and farmer's markets.[14] The FDA reports that, in 2002, consuming partially heated raw milk and raw milk products caused 200 Americans to become ill in some manner.[15]
Many governmental officials hold to the need for pasteurization. Before pasteurization, many dairies, especially in cities, fed their cattle on low-quality food, and their milk was rife with dangerous bacteria. Pasteurizing it was the only way to make it safely drinkable. As pasteurization has been standard for many years, it is now widely assumed that raw milk is dangerous.[16]
Proponents of raw milk (in the U.S.) advance two basic arguments for unpasteurized milk. They claim that pasteurization destroys or damages some of the milk's nutrients, and that while pasteurization may kill dangerous bacteria, it also kills off "good" bacteria that raw milk supporters claim to have health benefits.[17] The United States Food and Drug administration claims that this is false, and that pasteurizing milk does not destroy any of its nutritive value.[18]
See also
- Milk Milk is a translucent white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It provides the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. The early lactation milk is known as colostrum, and carries the mother's antibodies to the baby. It can reduce the risk of many diseases in the baby. The
- Raw foodism Raw foodism is a lifestyle promoting the consumption of uncooked, unprocessed, and often organic foods as a large percentage of the diet
|
Thu, 29 Jul 2010 14:02:31 GMT+00:00
PR Newswire (press release) Raw milk prices have been soaring since the second half of 2009, and in June the average purchase price of raw milk was 2.86 RMB/kg, up 0.54 RMB compare ... Mengniu shareholders return with another sell-down FinanceAsia
