Raw milk is milk Milk is an opaque 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 exact that has not been pasteurized Pasteurization is a process which 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 and Claude Bernard on April 20, 1864. The process was originally conceived as a way of preventing wine and beer from souring or homogenized One of the oldest applications of homogenization is in milk processing, to prevent or delay natural separation of cream from the rest of the emulsion. The fat in milk normally separates from the water and collects at the top. Homogenization breaks the fat into smaller sizes so it no longer separates, allowing the sale of non-separating 1%, 2%, and.

Contents

History

Humans consumed raw milk before the industrial revolution. 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 which 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 and Claude Bernard on April 20, 1864. The process was originally conceived as a way of preventing wine and beer from souring 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. Brucella spp. are small, Gram-negative, non-motile, non-spore- that was thought to be easily transmitted to humans through the drinking of raw milk.[1] Initially after the scientific discovery of bacteria, 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. 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 in case infectious milk should enter the food supply.

The Raw vs Pasteurized Debate

Main article: United States raw milk debate

The Raw vs Pasteurized Debate places the health benefits against the disease threat. Although agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services based in the Metro Atlanta area, adjacent to the campus of Emory University and northeast of downtown Atlanta. It works to protect public health and safety by providing information to enhance health decisions, and it promotes (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration The Food and Drug Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and is responsible for regulating and supervising the safety of foods, dietary supplements, drugs, vaccines, biological medical products, blood products, medical devices, radiation-emitting devices, veterinary products, and cosmetics. The FDA (FDA) and other worldwide regulatory agencies say that pathogens from raw milk make it unsafe to consume,[3] other organizations such as the Weston A. Price Foundation The Weston A. Price Foundation was co-founded in 1999 by Sally Fallon and nutritionist Mary G. Enig. It is a US 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to "restoring nutrient-dense foods to the American diet through education, research and activism." Its goals include disseminating the research and dietary advice of dentist and in its "Real Milk" campaign say that raw milk has health benefits that are destroyed in the pasteurization process and that it can be produced hygienically.

The disease threat at present is a statistical issue and is defined in public health terms. Although Mycobacteria bovis (non-pulmonary tuberculosis) is found in raw milk, it is relatively rare in modern industrial societies. The public health issue is that tuberculosis and typhoid will always be present in raw milk, even if in statistically small amounts. These potentially disastrous pathogens in raw milk (non-pulmonary tuberculosis, typhoid, and salmonella) can be safely controlled by pasteurization Pasteurization is a process which 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 and Claude Bernard on April 20, 1864. The process was originally conceived as a way of preventing wine and beer from souring, animal husbandry, and milk storage methods[4]. The health of dairy animals can be managed by continual testing of dairy herds and careful storage of milk products. Some of the pathogens will never be eliminated from dairy herds since the pathogens are carried by common wildlife (goats, cats, dogs, pigs, buffalo, badgers, possums, deer, and bison)[5]. Thus, the public health side of the debate always returns to pasteurization Pasteurization is a process which 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 and Claude Bernard on April 20, 1864. The process was originally conceived as a way of preventing wine and beer from souring.

In 2007 Kansas State University published a list of outbreaks associated with consuming raw milk or dairy products "http://www.foodsafety.ksu.edu/articles/384/RawMilkOutbreakTable.pdf" and an article about the investigation of raw milk outbreaks can be found at http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/picrender.fcgi?artid=1508307&blobtype=pdf.

In 2008 scientists noticed that raw milk contains more bacteria than previously thought and identified Chryseobacterium oranimense as well as C. haifense and C. bovis, but the amount found in raw milk has not been proven harmful.[6]

Legal status

Worldwide

Regulation of the commercial distribution of packaged raw milk varies across the world. Some countries have complete bans, but many have 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 is fairly low compared to the rest of the world, in tribes where milk consumption is popular, such as the Maasai tribe, milk is typically consumed unpasteurized.

In Europe

A bottle of green-top milk

Milk 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.

Distribution of raw milk is illegal in Scotland. It is legal in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, but the only registered producers are in England[7]. About 200 producers sell raw, or "green top" milk direct to consumers, either at the farm, at a Farmers' market Farmers' markets, sometimes called greenmarkets, are markets, usually held out-of-doors, in public spaces, where farmers can sell produce to the public, 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.

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, is typical. In most countries of Asia, laws prohibiting raw milk are nonexistent or rarely enforced.

In Australia

Raw milk for drinking purposes is illegal in all states and territories, 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 cheeses Roquefort 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. Though similar cheeses are produced elsewhere, European law dictates that only those cheeses aged in the natural Combalou caves of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon may bear the name Roquefort,. 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.[8][9]

In Canada

The sale of raw milk directly to consumers is prohibited in Canada Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean. It is the world's second largest country by total area and shares the world's longest common border with the United States to the south and northwest[10] 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.[11] ”

However, like the United States, Canada permits the sale of raw milk cheeses Cheese is a food consisting 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 that are aged over 60 days. In 2009, the province of Quebec Quebec (English pronunciation: /kwɨˈbɛk/ or /kəˈbɛk/; French Québec [kebɛk] ) is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking identity and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level modified regulations to allow raw milk cheeses aged less than 60 days provided stringent safeguards are met.[12]

In the United States

28 US 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.[13] The FDA reports that, in 2002, consuming partially heated raw milk and raw milk products caused 200 Americans to become ill in some manner.[14]

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.[15]

Proponents of raw milk (in the U.S.) advance two basic health arguments. The first (flatly denied by regulators and most nutritional scientists[citation needed]) is that pasteurization destroys or damages many of milk's most valuable nutrients. The second is that while it may kill dangerous bacteria, pasteurization also kills off all the good bacteria in raw milk—some of the same ones that big dairy companies are now selling as "probiotics" in pricey new yogurt and drink concoctions[citation needed].

Supporters argue that raw milk is just as safe as the dairy it comes from. If the cows are healthy and the dairy is spotless, they say, raw milk is safer by far than pasteurized milk, because the beneficial bacteria naturally found in raw milk make it harder for harmful bacteria to grow. Accurate testing is also available now to detect the presence of harmful bacteria, something that was lacking when pasteurization was first propagated in the early 1900s.

See also

References

  1. ^ An Impossible Undertaking: The Eradication of Bovine Tuberculosis in the United States, ALAN L. OLMSTEAD AND PAUL W. RHODE, The Journal of Economic History (2004), 64 : 734-772 Cambridge University Press, Copyright © 2004 The Economic History Association, doi:10.1017/S0022050704002955
  2. ^ Not on My Farm!: Resistance to Bovine Tuberculosis Eradication in the United States, Alan L. Olmstead and Paul W. Rhode, January 2005, The Journal of Economic History (2007), 67 : 768-809 Cambridge University Press, Copyright © 2007 The Economic History Association, doi:10.1017/S0022050707000307
  3. ^ "FDA and CDC Remind Consumers of the Dangers of Drinking Raw Milk". US FDA. March 1, 2007. http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/2007/ucm108856.htm. Retrieved 2009-06-05.
  4. ^ Elmer H. Marth, James L. Steele, Applied Dairy Microbiology
  5. ^ "Tuberculosis in Animals". http://www.lung.ca/tb/abouttb/animal/wildlife.html.
  6. ^ EurekAlert. New bacteria discovered in raw milk.
  7. ^ The Association of Unpasteurised Milk Producers and Consumers, Hardwick Estate Office, Whitchurch-on-Thames, Reading RG8 7RB
  8. ^ "raw milk pathogens". http://www.safefood.qld.gov.au/docs/fs%20-%20raw%20milk%20pathogens%20141003.pdf.
  9. ^ "Roquefort cheese can now be sold in Australia". http://www.health.gov.au/internet/ministers/publishing.nsf/Content/health-mediarel-yr2005-cp-pyn057.htm?OpenDocument&yr=2005&mth=9.
  10. ^ "Statement from Health Canada About Drinking Raw Milk". http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/securit/facts-faits/rawmilk-laitcru_e.html.
  11. ^ Department of Justice (2007-12-02). "Democrats Seek Perjury Charge for Attorney General". Department of Justice. http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/showdoc/cr/C.R.C.-c.870/bo-ga:l_B-gb:l_8//en.
  12. ^ http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/article700358.ece
  13. ^ Hannah Wallace. "Raw Milk- Still Controversial?". http://www.hannahmwallace.typepad.com/hannahs_clips/2009/03/raw-milkstill-controversial-.html.
  14. ^ Linda Bren. "Got Milk? Make Sure It's Pasteurized". US Food and Drug Administration. http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2004/504_milk.html.
  15. ^ Ann Monroe. "Trafficking in Raw Milk". MSN Lifestyle. http://lifestyle.msn.com/your-life/living-green/articlegreenchan.aspx?cp-documentid=18708415&page=2.

External links

Categories: Milk Categories: Dairy farming | Dairy products | Non-alcoholic beverages | Animal glandular products | Dairy products Categories: Foods | Animal products | Dairy farming

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