Raw Milk, is it ok to drink?

Akimajuktuq

Milk is pasteurized for a reason. Raw milk may contain various harmful bacteria and has been linked to numerous outbreaks and illness. It should also be noted that the pasteurization process does not impact the nutritional value of milk. Find more information at the Centers for Disease Control's website: http://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/rawmilk/raw-milk-questions-and-answers.html#related-outbreaks

For those saying--go ahead and try it, what's the harm. They should look at some of the statistics, including some of the deaths (usually children) caused by bacteria found in unpasteurized milk. Per the CDC:

"Among dairy product-associated outbreaks reported to CDC between 1973 and 2009 in which the investigators reported whether the product was pasteurized or raw, 82% were due to raw milk or cheese. From 1998 through 2009, 93 outbreaks due to consumption of raw milk or raw milk products were reported to CDC. These resulted in 1,837 illnesses, 195 hospitalizations, and 2 deaths. Most of these illnesses were caused by Escherichia coli O157, Campylobacter, or Salmonella. It is important to note that a substantial proportion of the raw milk-associated disease burden falls on children; among the 93 raw dairy product outbreaks from 1998 to 2009, 79% involved at least one person less than 20 years old.

Reported outbreaks represent the tip of the iceberg. For every outbreak and every illness reported, many others occur, and most illnesses are not part of recognized outbreaks.

Are there more outbreaks related to raw milk in states where it is legal to sell?
Yes. States that allow the legal sale of raw milk for human consumption have more raw milk-related outbreaks of illness than states that do not allow raw milk to be sold legally.

For more information about outbreaks related to raw milk, see the main findings of "Nonpasteurized Dairy Products, Disease Outbreaks, and State Laws—United States, 1993-2006."

Wow, the CDC, well then it must be true. There's no corruption within the CDC at all and I'm sure there are no political agendas at play anywhere.

I'd love to see the stats on illness from "safe" processed foods alongside the ones that you have provided. Because, even in Canada, there sure has been a heck of a lot of recalls of safe, federally inspected food from federally monitored processing plants lately. I'm noticing a pattern: bulk foods processed at bulk facilities are far more likely to be contaminated with dangerous bacteria than products from our local farmers. Time to visit local farmers and open our eyes and minds instead of just soaking up bs from websites that hope we won't ever grab a clue and start thinking for ourselves.

leejusd

"From 1998 through 2009, 93 outbreaks due to consumption of raw milk or raw milk products were reported to CDC. These resulted in 1,837 illnesses, 195 hospitalizations, and 2 deaths." -- Doesn't sound too bad to me for 10 years.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salmonella -- (wiki is trustable isn't it??)
"About 142,000 (reported) Americans are infected each year with Salmonella enteritidis from chicken eggs, and about 30 die." --How many of us eat eggs regularly? And this is just eggs!!

http://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/outbreaks.html
And this was just a quick search for one food born illness.

The way our food empire is set up, the bottom line is about profits, not safety or quality. Watch the documentary Food, INC.
All food has a certain amount of risk associated with it. Outbreaks happen all the time, and no amount of rules will protect us all from them. Raw milk I believe is villainized, but to each his own.

MinMin97

Wow, the CDC, well then it must be true. There's no corruption within the CDC at all and I'm sure there are no political agendas at play anywhere.

Oh, yes...honest engine...gospel truth!