United States raw milk debate
Some animals, such as goats, produce smaller fat globules that remain mixed unless mechanically separated by centrifugation.
[2] Those opposed to homogenization argue that decreasing the size of fat globules may have unhealthy effects, including allowing steroid and protein hormones to bypass normal digestion and increase their levels in the body.
Concerns that uptake of the protein xanthine oxidase is increased by homogenization, leading to hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis), were raised in the 1970s.
Subsequent research "failed to substantiate, and in many cases has refuted"[3] a plausible effect of xanthine oxidase from homogenized milk on cardiovascular disease.
[2] Pasteurization is a sanitation process in which milk is heated briefly to a temperature high enough to kill pathogens, followed by rapid cooling.
Pasteurization kills pathogenic bacteria which occasionally may be present in milk, including those causing tuberculosis (Mycobacterium bovis), listeriosis (Listeria monocytogenes), Q fever (Coxiella burnetii), brucellosis (Brucella), campylobacteriosis (Campylobacter), salmonellosis (Salmonella), and several other foodborne illnesses (e.g., Escherichia coli O157:H7).
[citation needed] Pasteurization of cow's milk destroys any potential pathogens and increases the shelf life.
[8] Pasteurization was first used in the United States in the 1890s after the discovery of germ theory to control the hazards of highly contagious bacterial diseases, including bovine tuberculosis and brucellosis, that could be easily transmitted to humans through the drinking of raw milk.
Within a decade after New York city started enforcing milk pasteurization, infant mortality fell by more than two thirds.
Arizona, Utah, California and Washington allow raw milk sales in retail stores with appropriate warning labeling.
[14] In late 2007, the debate received media attention in California, where limits on the bacterial counts legally allowed in commercial raw milk came up for legislative review.
[16] The FDA has also offered financial assistance to state departments of health to help reduce raw milk consumption.
Fermented milk products with levels of L. acidophilus significantly higher than those found in raw milk have been associated with decreased incidence of pediatric diarrhea, decreased levels of toxic amines in the blood of dialysis patients with small bowel bacterial overgrowth, aided lactose digestion in lactose-intolerant subjects, and a reduction in coronary heart disease risks.
[23][24] However, food scientists and FDA officials maintain that such "good bacteria" can be found in pasteurized products, including yogurt,[25] and argue that the destruction of pathogens far outweighs any proposed benefit to keeping the beneficial microbes alive.
People with weakened immune systems, such as elderly, children, and those with certain diseases or conditions, are most at risk for severe infections from pathogens that can contaminate raw milk.
Other groups, such as the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition[28] and American Academy of Pediatrics, also warn that raw milk is dangerous, especially for children.
[29] In a CDC report, numerous cases were traced to raw milk from a cow-share program in Cowlitz County, Washington.
[17] The organization claims that of 15 milk-borne disease outbreaks cited by the FDA, not a single one demonstrated that pasteurization would have fixed the problem, that 93% lacked either a valid statistical correlation with raw milk or a positive sample, and half lacked both; they further claimed that, even with the FDA's numbers, raw milk was no more dangerous than deli meats.
An antibiotic-resistant strain of Brucella abortus, which can cause the disease Brucellosis, was detected in at least one person who drank raw milk from the co-op.
[17][26] Three studies have found a statistically significant inverse relationship between consumption of raw milk and asthma and allergies.
[47][48] Some advocates feel resentment towards the government's efforts in limiting the distribution and consumption of raw milk, seeing their actions as a personal choice that is not harmful to anyone else.
[citation needed] For example, as defined by the state of Indiana’s administrative code, Grade A milk shall meet the following standards:[50]
As discussed in the paper Guidelines for Using the DHI Somatic Cell Count Program[51] Bacteria in milk can come from sources other than the animal.
