South Dakota’s small dairy operators have had to fight their own state departments of Agriculture and Health to get the right to sell raw milk in our supposedly free-market-loving state.
They also have to fight some new science. A new CDC study on food-borne illnesses that finds unpasteurized milk and cheese caused 96% of the outbreak-related illnesses associated with contaminated dairy products:
In the United States, outbreaks associated with dairy consumption cause, on average, 760 illnesses/year and 22 hospitalizations/year, mostly from Salmonella spp. and Campylobacter spp. Unpasteurized milk, consumed by only 3.2% of the population, and cheese, consumed by only 1.6% of the population, caused 96% of illnesses caused by contaminated dairy products. Unpasteurized dairy products thus cause 840 (95% CrI 611–1,158) times more illnesses and 45 (95% CrI 34–59) times more hospitalizations than pasteurized products. As consumption of unpasteurized dairy products grows, illnesses will increase steadily; a doubling in the consumption of unpasteurized milk or cheese could increase outbreak-related illnesses by 96% [Solenne Costard, Luis Espejo, Huybert Groenendaal, and Francisco J. Zagmutt, abstract, “Outbreak-Related Disease Burden Associated with Consumption of Unpasteurized Cow’s Milk and Cheese, United States, 2009–2014,” CDC: Emerging Infectious Diseases, Vol. 23, No. 6, June 2017].
Costard et al. find note that most of these outbreaks stem from contamination at the farm, in the bulk milk tanks. However, less than 5% of raw milk producers’ tanks have shown contamination with the pathogens in question.
Given these low prevalences, strategies for further reduction are limited and involve multiple aspects of unpasteurized milk production. Boiling of milk before consumption seems to be a more realistic mitigation strategy, but this practice is unlikely to be implemented by unpasteurized dairy product advocates because it would affect the perceived benefits [Costard et al., June 2017].
This CDC study is limited to outbreak-related illnesses; it does not address the far more prevalent sporadic dairy-related illnesses. But South Dakota’s milk industry pounces on this study and says it’s a darn shame that South Dakota allows raw milk:
South Dakota Dairy Producers Association Executive Director Roger Scheibe says he’s not surprised by the study’s findings.
He says those who consume raw milk are just taking chances with their health.
Scheibe says what’s disappointing is that raw milk consumption on the farm is allowed in South Dakota at the present time.
Scheibe hopes that people will pay attention to this CDC study as they’re the scientific agency looking out for the health and welfare of the general public [“Dairy Executive Not Surprised by CDC Raw Milk Study,” WNAX, 2017.05.23].
I don’t like siding with big industry, but Scheibe does have a point. The CDC offers science, and science is an increasingly precious commodity during this scary Trump Interlude. If science says consuming raw milk increases your chances of getting an outbreak-related illness 840 times, you maybe ought to boil that milk.
Boiling? Science also says that boiling milk can induce the Maillard reaction (responsible for that delicious crunchy crust on hamburgers) adversely affecting the taste and smell of the milk. I’ll stick with pasteurized milk which is processed at a much lower temperature (161˚ for 15 seconds) than either boiling (212˚) or ultra high processing (275˚ for 2 seconds) preserving the taste. However, you’ll have to pry that raw cookie dough from my cold dead fingers.
720 cases is around 15 per state per year while 22 hospitalizations is less than one per state per year. Sounds to me that catching the common cold or the flu is more likely…..
Most food-borne illnesses contracted at restaurants originate from the ice. For all those who worked in a restaurant, how often did you clean the ice maker besides emptying the bin?
I cannot tell the taste difference between the milk in Europe and the milk in the US. What I can tell is that the milk in Europe is on the shelf and not refrigerated. This saves a whole lot of energy that we waste here getting the same results. You refrigerate the milk in Europe after you open it, smart, very smart.
European style https://newrepublic.com/article/119086/europes-unrefrigerated-uht-milk-could-help-save-environment
Horizon milk is on the shelf as well. Good move by dairy to promote their product without refrigeration. Helping to curb energy use and costs makes good cents… https://www.horizon.com/products/milk/lowfat-plain-milk-box?gclid=COPh9uTViNQCFUW2wAodqvIHMQ
75% of the world’s adults can’t drink milk. It’s only northern Europeans (SoDak’s genome block) who can.
http://genetics.thetech.org/original_news/news45