Los Angeles County Study on Raw Milk

[Guest guest]

By Robert Cohen Executive Director

 

Friday, June 25, 1999 - A LETTER TO THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

 

The Wall Street Journal published a letter from a raw milk

advocate, Sally Fallon. That letter described Fallon's

mistaken impression that unpasteurized milk is safer than

the pasteurized version which most Americans drink. Nothing

could be further from the truth. I decided to write a

letter to the Wall Street Journal, which follows. Will they

print it? That remains to be seen.

 

LETTER TO WALL STREET JOURNAL

 

GOT BACTERIA?

 

Unpasteurized milk and dairy products contain surprises for

milk producers, including dangerous bacteria, despite the

claims made in Sally Fallon's June 17th WSJ letter.

 

When cows are milked, their body fluids are stored in

refrigerated bulk tanks while waiting for the trucks to take

the milk to the processor. Many farmers drink the raw

unpasteurized milk produced on their farms and they should

reconsider that practice.

 

The May 10, 1999 issue of HOARD'S DAIRYMAN, the dairy

industry magazine d to by 108,000 " insiders " (dairy

farmers and milk producers), revealed that dangerous

bacteria are naturally present in milk. The Hoard's article

revealed that scientists at South Dakota State University

tested bulk tank milk from 131 dairy herds and found that

32% of the samples contained one or more species of

pathogenic bacteria.

 

In addition, a survey of those farms revealed that on 60

percent of the surveyed farms, dad, mom and kids consumed

raw milk.

 

What were they drinking? The study revealed the presence of

salmonella, listeria, campylobacter, yersinia, E. coli, and

staphylococcus. Milk from hundreds of dairy farms are

usually mixed together and added to that carton of milk sold

in supermarkets.

 

Many bacteria are not killed by pasteurization. Rod-shaped

bacteria form a " spore " at the first sign of heat ( " spore "

is the Greek word for " seed " ). When the milk cools, the

spore re-emerges into its original form.

________

 

FROM HER UDDER TO YOUR LIPS: THE RAW FACTS

 

RAW MILK

 

Los Angeles County has just completed a study on the

health risks from drinking raw milk. They've issued a

report. Here are some of the highlighlights/lowlights.

 

Health Risks

 

" Diseases which may be transmitted by micro-organisms

in raw milk or raw milk products include salmonellosis,

campylobacteriosis, brucellosis, yersiniosis, listeriosis,

staphylococcal enterotoxin poisoning, streptococcal

infections, tuberculosis and E. Coli 0157:H7 infection. "

 

In mid March, I will be debating raw milk advocate

Sally Fallon at the Toronto Total Health 2001

conference. Sally's web page:

 

http://www.realmilk.com

 

I'll be sure to give Sally a copy of a study that appeared

in the journal Dairy Science (1999 Dec, 82:12). A study

was performed in which raw milk samples from dairy

herds were tested. Here is what scientists found:

 

" Bulk tank milk from 131 dairy herds in eastern South

Dakota and western Minnesota were examined for

coliforms and noncoliform bacteria. Coliforms were

detected in 62.3% of bulk tank milk samples... noncoliform

bacteria were observed in 76.3% of bulk tank milk. "

 

Drink raw milk and you're not the only one at risk.

The Los Angeles County report reveals:

 

" Although the initial impact of the disease is on the

individual

consumer, many pathogens may be transmitted from person

to person, including to family members, and patrons of

restaurants if the individual is a food handler. The fetus

of a pregnant woman may be at risk. Some of the diseases

associated with the pathogens can lead to death,

particularly

among vulnerable persons. "

 

The Los Angeles County report cites Centers for Disease

Control estimates that no more than one out of 20 cases

of food borne illness are reported to local health

departments. Such illnesses are epidemic in nature, and

rarely reported by the media. Various examples of mass

milk poisonings were given in the L.A. study.

 

In 1985, an outbreak of listeria was linked to soft

cheese made from raw milk produced in Los Angeles

Of the 142 cases reported, 93 were in pregnant women

or their children. There were 48 deaths, including 20

fetuses.

 

Since 1973, 394 cases of salmonella have been

reported in Los Angeles County. Of these, 101 (25.6%)

were consumers of raw milk. Molecular fingerprinting

identified the strain of bacteria in ill persons as

the same as that found in raw milk samples.

 

Health Benefits of Raw Milk

 

A rigorous review of the medical and scientific literature

by the L.A. County investigators found no studies

suggesting health benefits from consuming raw

cow's milk.

________

 

RABID FANS OF RAW MILK

 

A number of new rs to this list are big fans of

drinking raw milk. Here are excerpts from a 1999

paper published in:

 

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report

(MMWR. 1999;48:228-229)

 

Mass Treatment of Humans Who Drank

Unpasteurized Milk From Rabid Cows

Massachusetts, 1996-1998

 

Rabies is a viral zoonosis that is usually transmitted by

the bite of an infected mammal. However, in Massachusetts,

two incidents have been reported since 1996 of potential

mass exposures to rabies through drinking unpasteurized

milk. This report presents the investigations of these two

incidents.

 

Incident 1

 

On November 12, 1998, the Virology Laboratory of the

Massachusetts Department of Public Health (VLMDPH)

diagnosed rabies in a 6-year-old Holstein dairy cow from

a farm in Worcester County. Further analysis of the cow's

brain tissue with monoclonal antibodies revealed the cow

was infected with a variant of the rabies virus associated

with raccoons in the eastern United States.

 

The cow had been milked 12 times during the week before

death. Milk from the cow had been pooled with milk collected

from other cows, and an unpasteurized portion was

distributed for human consumption. Public health

investigations identified 66 persons who drank unpasteurized

milk collected from this dairy during October 23-November

8.

All 66 received rabies inoculations.

 

Incident 2

 

On November 12, 1996, the VLMDPH diagnosed rabies in

a 14-year-old Jersey dairy cow from a different farm in

Worcester County. Analysis with monoclonal antibodies

revealed the cow was infected with a variant of the rabies

virus associated with raccoons in the eastern United States.

 

An investigation identified 14 persons who drank

unpasteurized milk collected from this cow during this

period. All 14 persons received rabies injections.

____

 

The series of injections used to treat suspected cases of

rabies costs an average of nearly $2400 per person.

 

The Center for Disease Control reports that there have

been an average of 150 rabid cattle cases each year

reported since 1990.

 

Pasteurization destroys rabies. Does raw milk sound

even less delicious than before?

 

If not, consider these 5 reasons NOT to drink raw milk:

 

" ... curing alone (pasteurization) may not be a sufficient

pathogen control step to eliminate Salmonella, Listeria,

and E. coli O157:H7 from cheese. "

(Journal of Food Protein, 1998 Oct, 61:10)

 

" A drop of sour milk may contain more than 50 million

bacteria. "

(Modern Dairy Products, Third Edition Lincoln Lampert)

 

" Listeria organisms excreted in cow's milk escaped

pasteurization, grew well at refrigerator temperatures,

and were ingested by consumers. "

(New England Journal of Medicine, 1985, 312, 7)

 

" Bulk tank milk from 131 dairy herds in eastern South

Dakota and western Minnesota were examined for

coliforms bacteria. Coliforms were detected in 62.3%

of bulk tank milk samples...

(Journal of Dairy Science, 1999 Dec, 82:12)

 

" Raw material from animals which are inadvertantly

contaminated with fecal matters during production will

carry antibiotic resistant lactic acid bacteria into the

final

fermented products such as raw milk cheeses... "

(Journal of Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek, 1999 Jul, 76)

 

www.notmilk.com