Health Law

The Wall Street Journal on the Raw Milk Debate

By Colin Caywood

As I post this latest article, I do realize that Food Poison Journal appears this week to be more like Raw Milk Journal. Believe it or not, we do make a genuine effort to post on a variety of foodborne illness-related subjects. With that in mind, I was tempted to refrain from posting another article on the subject today.  But with news emerging this week of yet another outbreak associated with raw milk consumption (this time Campylobacter from a Michigan farm), and Wall Street Journal writer Laura Landro's excellent article today on the contentious raw milk debate, I had to post just one more.

Advocates of fresh-from-the-farm unprocessed foods tout "raw" milk as the ultimate health food, claiming it is rich in disease-fighting nutrients and healthy enzymes that are lost in pasteurization. But public health officials are unequivocal that the risks of fresh milk far outweigh any benefits, and that pasteurization—heating milk at temperatures high enough to kill harmful bacteria—is the only way to ensure its safety.

Now amid new reports of illnesses linked to raw milk the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration are stepping up efforts to warn consumers of the dangers, and urging states to strengthen their regulations to minimize the hazards of raw milk. The FDA is also reviewing its policy covering hard cheeses made from raw milk, which are currently approved for sale if aged 60 days. A federal microbiology advisory committee has raised questions about whether that is sufficient to kill pathogens, as long believed.

On Friday, the FDA reported 12 new cases of illness in the Midwest linked to raw milk from a dairy contaminated with a dangerous bacterium, campylobacter. "Raw milk is inherently dangerous and should not be consumed by anyone, at any time, for any reason," says John Sheehan, director of the FDA's division of plant- and dairy-food safety.

At least one major retailer, Whole Foods Markets Inc., is pulling raw milk from its shelves in four states, citing high costs for liability insurance because of the potential risks of selling raw milk and different state regulations that make it a challenge to create a national raw milk standard for its stores. State officials in Connecticut linked a 2008 outbreak of the bacterial infection E. coli 0157 to raw milk sold by a dairy that supplied a Whole Foods store there.

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Kalee Prue, a 29-year old Connecticut mother of one, says she believed in the benefits of raw milk but became ill soon after drinking some purchased at a Whole Foods in Connecticut linked to the E. coli outbreak.

She was eventually diagnosed with hemolytic uremic syndrome, which can be caused when an E. coli infection produces toxic substances that destroy red-blood cells and damage the kidneys. She has undergone blood transfusions and is at risk for long-term kidney complications that may require a transplant. Her attorney, William Marler, says she has incurred over $230,000 in medical bills, and he is in discussions with Whole Foods to see if the matter can be resolved without a suit.

Ms. Prue, for her part, says even if there are healthy properties in raw milk, "there are other ways to get the benefits that raw milk has to offer, and it just isn't worth the risk."

For the full article, click here.

Full post as published by Food Poison Blog on March 29, 2010 (boomark / email).