The Weston A. Price Foundation actively supports dairy farmers who produce raw milk and is committed to improving consumer access to raw milk. Their campaign for real milk includes state-by-state details on raw milk laws, lists of raw milk producers, and safety and health information. RealMilk.com is a good source of information on researching, buying and safely consuming fresh milk. The Farm-To-Consumer Legal Defense Fund is a grassroots group that “protects the rights of farmers to sell farm products and the rights of consumers to access the food of their choice from the source of their choice.” Not so long ago in the history of domestic animals, raw milk did not exist because pasteurized and homogenized milk did not exist. Milk was just milk, sweet (fresh) or cultivated. If you wanted fresh milk, you raised dairy animals yourself or lived near someone who did. Gradually, the dairy production process changed. The way we drink milk has changed. And our expectations of milk have changed. The milk we usually buy in stores has gone through a lot before it even gets on our lips.
It has been centrifuged, pasteurized or ultra-pasteurized and enriched with vitamins. It had a specific, predetermined percentage of fat that was homogenized again. It is a mechanized product designed for high profit margins. More and more consumers are thinking critically about what is missing in their milk. Interest and demand for raw milk and raw milk products has steadily increased in recent decades, but it`s not as black and white as cartoon images of Holstein cows invariably adorning dairy cartons. Scratch the surface and discover how raw milk can be a focal point for many controversial issues in our country: government regulations that tell small businesses and individuals what they can and cannot do; the nutritional value of foods that have been heavily handled; The security of knowing what we feed ourselves and our families is safe and pure. For many, milk illustrates two definitions of purity. One is something that has remained unchanged. The other is somewhat free of impurities and pathogens. Foods, including raw milk, can meet one, neither, or both definitions.
Beddows, C.G., and C. Blake, J. 1982. The status of fluoride in bovine milk. II. The effect of different heat treatment processes. J. Food Technol.17:63-70 Burton H. 1986. Microbiological aspects of pasteurized milk.
Bulletin of the International Dairy Federation, No. 200, Chapter III, pp. 9-14. DPC.1997. Guidelines for troubleshooting the number of bacteria on farms in raw milk. The Dairy Practices Council. Keyport, État de New York. Lund, D.B.J.1982. Growth of heat-resistant streptococci and deposition of milk constituents on heat exchanger plates for long periods of operation. J.
Food Protection. 45(9): 806-812, 815. 2004. Raw Milk Survey. Dairy Division of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture. Annual meeting in September. St. Paul, MN Plotter, H.M.
2002. Raw milk and dairy products intended for human consumption. Dairy Division, Indiana State Board of Animal Health, Indianapolis, IN. PMO. 2001 Revision. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Services. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Washington, DC. Reener, E. 1986.
Nutritional aspects -Part I- Biochemical composition of pasteurized milk. Bulletin of the International Milk Federation, No. 200, Chapter VII, pp. 27-29. Rosenthal, I. 1991. Properties and processing of milk and dairy products. Edited by Balaban Publishers VCH, New York, NY pp. 70-71. Spreer, E.
1998. Ed. Marcel Dekker, Inc. New York, NY pp. 39-41. Grey areasRaw milk is currently in an intermediate location. As rewarding as herd stocks can be for some shareholders, not every milk drinker looking for fresh milk can run out and join one. Why do some state laws make things so difficult? Is raw milk really that dangerous? “I drink raw milk and that`s okay,” says Brogden.
“If I lived in California, I could go to the store and buy it.” That`s true, because it`s one of the few states where raw milk can be retailed. Meanwhile, Ohio regional authorities have a history of raiding farms that produce raw milk. “They ambush, they create fear and the farmer pulls out of the sale,” says Phelps. Even farmers who are convinced of their practices may be reluctant to discuss raw milk with the media because they want to protect their family business and shareholders. Raw milk advocacy groups advocate relaxing state laws so farmers don`t have to work in the shadows and consumers can make their own informed choices. “The more people demand what they want, the more it can happen,” Schwartz says, noting that farmers are engaged in agriculture and consumers need to be their advocates. “I will always raise my own food. But if they close us, you won`t have our stuff anymore. So it`s our job to be a source of ideas. If there`s a silver lining to the limited access available to true dairy lovers in Ohio and neighboring states, it`s that it forces them as consumers to engage and support farmers on a much more personal level. Real milk inspires people to have conversations they wouldn`t otherwise have and to ask more questions than ever about our local and national food systems.
Once the genie is out of the milk bottle, you can no longer force him. Drinking or consuming raw milk is legal in all 50 states. With the exception of Michigan, no state specifically prohibits the sale of raw milk for animal feed. Raw milk was and still is an integral part of the epidemiological literature; It has been associated with campylobacteriosis, salmonellosis, tuberculosis, brucellosis, hemorrhagic colitis, Brainerd`s diarrhea, Q fever, listeriosis, yersiniosis, and toxoplasmosis, to name a few (Plotter, 2002). Outbreaks related to raw milk consumption occur regularly each year. In 1995, the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition and the United States. The Food and Drug Administration has published guidelines establishing a list of pathogenic organisms transmitted by raw milk and dairy products, such as Salmonella spp., Staphyloccocus aureus, Campylobacter jejuni, Yersina enterocolitica, Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli (enterotoxic and enteropathic), E. coli. coli 0157: H7, Shigella spp., Streptococcus spp. and hepatitis A virus. Of the 50 states and Puerto Rico, 24 states, including Ohio, allow raw milk to be sold directly to the consumer. Twenty-seven states allow the sale of raw milk for human consumption, either on the farm where it is produced, in retail stores, or through cow ownership agreements.
Twenty-nine states have recorded foodborne outbreaks attributable to the consumption of raw milk (NASDA, 2004). Milk from healthy cows contains relatively few bacteria (102-103/ml), and the health risk of eating raw milk would be minimal. However, milk is a natural food that offers no protection against external contamination and can easily become contaminated if separated from the cow (Rosenthal, 1991). Raw milk usually has a diverse microflora that comes from a variety of sources, such as the exterior surfaces of the animal and the surfaces of milk handling equipment such as milking machines, piping and containers (Burton, 1986). Therefore, milk is susceptible to contamination by many pathogenic microorganisms that lead to infection and endanger the health of the consumer. In addition, cow-borne diseases such as tuberculosis, brucellosis, typhoid and listeriosis may be transmitted (Spreer, 1998). The average standard plate count (SPC) for canned and bulk milk is ~700,000 bacteria/ml and ~100,000 bacteria/ml, respectively, depending on temperature and handling conditions. The microbial standards for raw Class “A” milk are 100,000 bacteria/mL; for individual raw milks, 300,000 bacteria/ml and for mixed milk, 750,000 cells/ml in somatic cell count (SCC) (PMO, 2001). These standards are the maximum allowable, and most dairy farmers supply milk at concentrations well below the maximum allowable limits. Another indicator of milk quality is the preliminary incubation number (PI) with a maximum allowable number of 100,000 bacteria/ml on load, storage tank or individual producer samples, although results of 25,000 bacteria/ml or less are desirable (CPD, 1997).
Milk can be classified as a potentially hazardous food if it is not properly processed, handled or stored. A living product”Raw milk is alive. It`s a dynamic environment,” says Diane Phelps, who coordinates the herd exchange program for Highland Haven Farms in Hillsboro, OH. This is the biggest difference between raw milk and industrial milk. When milk is pasteurized, it is heated to a certain temperature to kill bacteria (harmful and beneficial) and pathogens. Pasteurized milk does not live. Since raw milk is also not homogenized, its fat (cream) separates and rises to the surface. Almost infallibly, raw milk has a higher fat content than its counterpart at the grocery store. Farmer Sarah Mancino of Farm Beach Bethel in Bethel, OH, avoids the term “raw milk”; She prefers to call it “real milk”. “You might think all the cream has increased, but the milk underneath is pretty thick and rich,” she says. “You have this sweet, healthy taste. There are microorganisms in this milk – it lives.
And you can turn it into something new if you`re smart enough. Yogurt, butter, cheese, kefir. That`s what people did before they had refrigeration. Milk only stays in the root cellar for a very long time. True milk advocates believe that its diversity of good bacteria contributes to a robust microbiome and a strong immune system, and that its active enzymes promote better digestion (especially for those who have struggled to digest dairy in the past).