FDA stops sales of Amish raw milk

In a story that won’t seem to go away, the FDA inspected Dan Algyer’s Rainbow Acres Pennsylvania farm, and eventually filed an injunction seeking to ban Algyer from selling raw (unpasteurized) milk to regional customers. This Washington Times article summarizes the event.

In the course of their investigation, the FDA found that Algyer was shipping raw milk across state lines, in violation of federal law. On April 20, the FDA sent Algyer a warning letter telling him to correct these violations. They also found that the milk was unlabelled, another violation.

This has led to hundreds of articles, many displaying furious, if incoherent, outrage at the Fed’s “overreaching.” Some Examiners have taken Algyer’s side in this, as if this was a matter of opinion rather than health and law.

According to Tamara Ward, FDA spokesman, “It is the FDA’s position that raw milk should never be consumed.”

There are several reasons why raw milk partisans get so worked up about this:

Raw milk is much more profitable, selling for two to four times as much as pasteurized milk, because of its imagined cachet.
Raw milk tastes better than continuously pasteurized or UHT pasteurized milk.
Drinking raw milk is like Russian roulette; there is a certain excitement in drinking a product that can kill you.

Milk pasteurization was developed to kill diseases that milk can carry, including campylobacter, listeria, tuberculosis, E-coli and spoilage bacteria. In particular, it was developed to reduce childhood illness and mortality from milk products, and it has done this admirably.

Milk can be batch pasteurised by holding it at 145 F for 30 minutes, or at higher temperatures (161F for 20 seconds) or UHT pasteuized at 275 F for at least one second. These latter approaches impart something of a cooked taste to the milk.

You can get the creamy taste attributed to raw milk by buying batch-pasteurized milk that some small farmers are now offering. We recently tasted delicious batch-pasteurized milk from Arethusa Farms in Litchfield, CT and recommend it highly,

Raw milk is dangerous. This is not a position taken by the “food industry,” but by actual scientific data.

According to the CDC, between 1998 and 2008, there were 85 outbreaks of human infections resulting from consumption of raw milk reported to CDC, including a total of 1,614 reported illnesses, 187 hospitalizations and two deaths.

It is important to note that since only 1-3% of the populace drinks raw milk, that even if there were comparable numbers for pasteurized milk, this would make raw milk 30-100 times more dangerous than pasteurized milk.

In 2010 through May 2011, there were 19 outbreaks causing 158 illnesses attributed to raw milk and 1 outbreak causing 5 illnesses attributed to pasteurized (Queso fresco cheese). There were also 6 recalls of pasteurized Queso fresco cheese that caused no illnesses. These are pretty serious statistics. Many illnesses go unreported so the likely percentage is probably much higher.

Raw milk myths

In support of their dangerous products, the raw milk industry has evolved a number of completely specious claims regarding the health benefits of raw milk. A large number of documents debunking these claims were collected by Humboldt County, CA during legislative hearings, and these are collected here. However, most complete and persuasive of those is the testimony of USDA Director of Plant and Dairy Safety John Sheehan, which starts on page 17 of this document collection. He notes that:

Raw milk is inherently dangerous and may contain a host of pathogens.
Claims that raw milk has miraculous disease curing properties are not supported by the scientific literature.
Raw milk is not a “magic food for children.” It can lead to hemolytic uremic syndrome, threatening children’s lives.
Raw milk, no matter how carefully produced may be unsafe.
Federal court case Public Citizen vs Heckler concluded in 1986 that there was “overwhelming evidence of risk associated with raw milk, both certified and non certified.”
A complete USDA 2005 presentation on raw milk safety is available here.
Raw milk does not kill any significant pathogens. Pathogens cannot multiply in pasteurized milk more than in raw milk.
Pasteurization does not destroy enzymes in milk.
Pasteurization does not cause lactose intolerance
Raw milk is not a probiotic food.
Pasteurization does not destroy milk proteins.
Pasteurization does not destroy vitamins and minerals in milk.

Raw milk is inherently dangerous and you should not drink it according to the FDA, the CDC, American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and all of the following professional organizations.

Ignore the wild claims of the raw milk producers. Your best bet is to get batch pasteurized milk such as that provided by Arethusa Farms.

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