Raw milk 150 times more likely to cause illness than pasteurized

[Puppycow]

Raw milk causes most illnesses from dairy, study finds

Unpasteurized milk, touted as the ultimate health food by some, is 150 times more likely to cause food-borne illness outbreaks than pasteurized milk, and such outbreaks had a hospitalization rate 13 times higher than those involving pasteurized dairy products, a study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds.

Quelle surprise.

Will it change any minds?

ETA: That's 1950 times more likely to cause illness requiring hospitalization if I'm not mistaken.

 

[Brian-M]

What's that in raw numbers?

For example; consumers of raw milk suffer X cases of illness per million persons annually, compared to Y cases of illnesses per million persons annually among consumers of pasteurized milk.

Just saying 150 times more likely is meaningless. 150 times more likely than what?

 

[rjh01]

What's that in raw numbers?

For example; consumers of raw milk suffer X cases of illness per million persons annually, compared to Y cases of illnesses per million persons annually among consumers of pasteurized milk.

Just saying 150 times more likely is meaningless. 150 times more likely than what?

Read the link. Then you will know

The survey found 121 outbreaks linked to dairy products in which it was known whether the milk was pasteurized or unpasteurized (also called "raw"). Of those, 60% were caused by raw milk and 39% by pasteurized milk.

"When you consider that no more than 1% of the milk consumed in the United States is raw,

 

[Roger Ramjets]

Quoting x cases per million might make it sound like your chances of getting sick are still quite low, which it probably is. But that doesn't mean it wouldn't be a problem.

Pennsylvania is in the midst of a campylobacter outbreak linked to raw milk from a dairy in Chambersburg, Pa., that had sickened 77 people as of Tuesday.

Currently only 1% of the milk consumed in the United States is raw, but what if there were no restrictions and almost everybody switched to raw milk? Imagine those 77 cases growing to over 7000!

 

[Information Analyst]

Quoting x cases per million might make it sound like your chances of getting sick are still quite low, which it probably is. But that doesn't mean it wouldn't be a problem.

Pennsylvania is in the midst of a campylobacter outbreak linked to raw milk from a dairy in Chambersburg, Pa., that had sickened 77 people as of Tuesday.

Currently only 1% of the milk consumed in the United States is raw, but what if there were no restrictions and almost everybody switched to raw milk? Imagine those 77 cases growing to over 7000!

Total side-track, but is that a common use of the word "sickened" in American-English? In the UK it is now almost exclusively used to denote disgust ("I was sickened to read that...."). In the same context as this case, we'd be more likely to hear, "... that has made 77 people sick..." or "... that has made 77 people ill..."

 

[Brian-M]

Read the link. Then you will know

I read the link. It mentions the review covers 121 outbreaks over 13 years. No mention of how many people affected, what areas and population covered, no mention of even what constitutes an outbreak.

When talking about the dangers of raw milk, they seem to have left out a very pertinent figure...

If you drink raw milk, what are your actual chances of getting sick from it?

ETA: Not that it directly affects me in any way. I only drink UHT milk, because I can buy half a dozen at once, and it doesn't matter if the carton sits in the fridge for a week or two before I get around to opening it.

Microorganisms can't survive the Ultra-Heat Treament. (Except possibly botulism spores and a few extremophiles, but even then only in very rare circumstances.)

 

[Puppycow]

It's a less common usage in the US too but I suspect that if you consult a British English dictionary you will find that literal sense of the word in there.

 

[Puppycow]

I read the link. It mentions the review covers 121 outbreaks over 13 years. No mention of how many people affected, what areas and population covered, no mention of even what constitutes an outbreak.

When talking about the dangers of raw milk, they seem to have left out a very pertinent figure...

If you drink raw milk, what are your actual chances of getting sick from it?

ETA: Not that it directly affects me in any way. I only drink UHT milk, because I can buy half a dozen at once, and it doesn't matter if the carton sits in the fridge for a week or two before I get around to opening it.

If you can find the original paper it probably says there.

 

[Jorghnassen]

How many of those outbreaks are from "Mexican bathtub cheese". I am all for raw milk cheeses but there's no way in hell I'd buy stuff made under unsanitary/unregulated conditions. I have no doubt that there are more risks to raw milk consumption, but the numbers are not quite fair here. I would love to see numbers for, just as an illustration, unpasteurized vs pasteurized "cider" (brown, cloudy apple juice). The former doesn't keep as long, that's for sure.

 

[JJM 777]

You mean that there actually is a reason why Louis Pasteur invented a bacteria-killing method? I thought it was just for the fun of it.

 

[Almo]

You mean that there actually is a reason why Louis Pasteur invented a bacteria-killing method? I thought it was just for the fun of it.

My thoughts were along these lines. Reminds me of a scene in a sci fi book where a group of teens raised in a single small spaceship decide it's a farce and open a panel to get out. The reality of the vacuum changes their minds fast. The problem with the raw milk issue is that the effects are less obvious, so the delusion is more persistent.

 

[Bikewer]

Pasteurization removes all the healthy.....Stuff from your milk. You gotta drink it right out of the cow!
Funny story on this on NPR some months ago. Guy who had always harbored dreams of becoming a "gentleman farmer" finally bought a small farm. Place came with a couple of dairy cows.
Almost immediately upon buying the farm, he was approached by people who wanted to see if he'd sell "shares" in the cows. It was illegal to sell raw milk in the area. However, the owner of a cow could consume it without problem...
The local farmers were selling shares in some of their cattle so that folks could have the raw milk legally...

 

[Information Analyst]

It's a less common usage in the US too but I suspect that if you consult a British English dictionary you will find that literal sense of the word in there.

Yeah, I've seen it used in archaic sources ("he did eat some bad fish, and did sicken in the night, expiring before dawn" etc.!), so it sort of leapt of the screen. I'm aware though, that there are some words/phrases that have fallen from use here, but survive elsewhere in the English-speaking world, and so wondered if this was one of them.

 

[catsmate]

No doubt the usual suspects will be along to claim it's all an FDA/whomever conspiracy and raw milk is wonderful.

 

[The Central Scrutinizer]

Raw milk causes most illnesses from dairy, study finds



Quelle surprise.

Will it change any minds?

ETA: That's 1950 times more likely to cause illness requiring hospitalization if I'm not mistaken.

The CDC is controlled by Big Ag. And Big Pharma too. And the Jews.

 

[Dinwar]

You mean that there actually is a reason why Louis Pasteur invented a bacteria-killing method? I thought it was just for the fun of it.

Well, at the time the industry was quite different. As I recall, a LOT of milk being sold in the USA at the time was from cows fed nothing but swill from breweries. The fact that it was greenish in color was cause for concern; what the people did to it to make it look white was even more so. Pasteur may not have designed his process to combat that issue (as I recall, milk quality was a minor byproduct), but the regulations in question certainly were devised to do so.

As long as you're getting milk from healthy cows, and that milk is handled under sanitary conditions, I doubt there's any significant difference in rates of disease caused by milk between pasteurized and non milk today. There's SOME risk--there always is--but the differences in rates of causing diseases will be statistical noise. Tens if not hundreds of millions of people drink milk every day in the USA; it'd be extremely surprising if some DIDN'T get sick (some get sick from driking our water, and we've got the cleanest, healthiest water system in history).

 

[phunk]

As long as you're getting milk from healthy cows, and that milk is handled under sanitary conditions, I doubt there's any significant difference in rates of disease caused by milk between pasteurized and non milk today.

As long as you're getting milk from farm animals, it's impossible to be completely sanitary. There will be the occasional bit of poo in the bucket.

 

[Peacock]

If any of you actually ever milked a cow or worked in a dairy you wouldn't want to drink raw milk. Trust me. So gross.

 

[Baloney]

As long as you're getting milk from farm animals, it's impossible to be completely sanitary. There will be the occasional bit of poo in the bucket.

(highlighting is mine)

I guess when dealing in absolutes, your statement is accurate; but it's an equally valid argument when talking about pasteurized milk, tap water, and beer.

It's very possible to never have fecal contamination when collecting milk from farm animals if proper technique and sanitation are employed habitually.

 

[EHocking]

If any of you actually ever milked a cow or worked in a dairy you wouldn't want to drink raw milk.

I have done all three and enjoyed each of those experiences.

Trust me.

So gross.