Last week, we started this two-parter with a big picture view of pasteurization and the raw milk movement. In this episode, we address the alleged health claims made by proponents of raw milk and dive into the very real risks carried by its consumption. Is raw milk actually better for you? Does it have more vitamins or prevent allergies? What deadly pathogens does it harbor? How much does drinking raw milk increase your chance of contracting a milk-related disease? (Spoilers: A LOT). We tackle these questions with reliable data that paint a very different picture of raw milk than that shown by many raw milk influencers. Tune in for all this and more.
| Biology and Current status of Raw Milk |
| Firsthand account:Beecher, C., 2016 “Parents haunted by decisions as raw milk’s impact lingers” Food Safety News. https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2016/11/parents-haunted-by-decisions-as-raw-milks-impact-lingers/ |
| Koski, L., Kisselburgh, H., Landsman, L., Hulkower, R., Howard-Williams, M., Salah, Z., Kim, S., Bruce, B.B., Bazaco, M.C., Batz, M.B. and Parker, C.C., 2022. Foodborne illness outbreaks linked to unpasteurised milk and relationship to changes in state laws–United States, 1998–2018. Epidemiology & Infection, 150, p.e183. |
| Lucey, J.A., 2015. Raw milk consumption: risks and benefits. Nutrition today, 50(4), pp.189-193. |
| Costard, S., Espejo, L., Groenendaal, H. and Zagmutt, F.J., 2017. Outbreak-related disease burden associated with consumption of unpasteurized cow’s milk and cheese, United States, 2009–2014. Emerging infectious diseases, 23(6), p.957. |
| Robinson, T.J., Scheftel, J.M. and Smith, K.E., 2014. Raw milk consumption among patients with non–outbreak-related enteric infections, Minnesota, USA, 2001–2010. Emerging infectious diseases, 20(1), p.38. |
| Sebastianski, M., Bridger, N.A., Featherstone, R.M. and Robinson, J.L., 2022. Disease outbreaks linked to pasteurized and unpasteurized dairy products in Canada and the United States: a systematic review. Canadian Journal of Public Health, 113(4), pp.569-578. |
| Grace, D., Wu, F. and Havelaar, A.H., 2020. MILK Symposium review: Foodborne diseases from milk and milk products in developing countries—Review of causes and health and economic implications. Journal of dairy science, 103(11), pp.9715-9729. |
| Ntuli, V., Sibanda, T., Elegbeleye, J.A., Mugadza, D.T., Seifu, E. and Buys, E.M., 2023. Dairy production: microbial safety of raw milk and processed milk products. In Present knowledge in food safety (pp. 439-454). Academic Press. |
| Christidis, T., Pintar, K.D.M., Butler, A.J., Nesbitt, A., Thomas, M.K., Marshall, B. and Pollari, F., 2016. Campylobacter spp. prevalence and levels in raw milk: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of food protection, 79(10), pp.1775-1783. |
| Taghizadeh, M., Nematollahi, A., Bashiry, M., Javanmardi, F., Mousavi, M. and Hosseini, H., 2022. The global prevalence of Campylobacter spp. in milk: A systematic review and meta-analysis. International Dairy Journal, 133, p.105423. |
| Zhang, J., Wang, J., Jin, J., Li, X., Zhang, H., Shi, X. and Zhao, C., 2022. Prevalence, antibiotic resistance, and enterotoxin genes of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from milk and dairy products worldwide: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Food Research International, 162, p.111969. |
| https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6427a5.htm |
| https://www.fda.gov/food/buy-store-serve-safe-food/raw-milk-misconceptions-and-danger-raw-milk-consumption |
| Macdonald, L.E., Brett, J., Kelton, D., Majowicz, S.E., Snedeker, K. and Sargeant, J.M., 2011. A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of pasteurization on milk vitamins, and evidence for raw milk consumption and other health-related outcomes. Journal of food protection, 74(11), pp.1814-1832. |
| Douglas Jr, F.W., Greenberg, R., Farrell Jr, H.M. and Edmondson, L.F., 1981. Effects of ultra-high-temperature pasteurization on milk proteins. Journal of Agricultural and food Chemistry, 29(1), pp.11-15. |
| Cifelli, C.J., Maples, I.S. and Miller, G.D., 2010. Pasteurization: implications for food safety and nutrition. Nutrition Today, 45(5), pp.207-213. |
| Mummah, S., Oelrich, B., Hope, J., Vu, Q. and Gardner, C.D., 2014. Effect of raw milk on lactose intolerance: a randomized controlled pilot study. The Annals of Family Medicine, 12(2), pp.134-141. |
| House, J.S., Wyss, A.B., Hoppin, J.A., Richards, M., Long, S., Umbach, D.M., Henneberger, P.K., Freeman, L.E.B., Sandler, D.P., O’Connell, E.L. and Barker-Cummings, C., 2017. Early-life farm exposures and adult asthma and atopy in the Agricultural Lung Health Study. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 140(1), pp.249-256. |
| Brick, T., Hettinga, K., Kirchner, B., Pfaffl, M.W. and Ege, M.J., 2020. The beneficial effect of farm milk consumption on asthma, allergies, and infections: from meta-analysis of evidence to clinical trial. The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice, 8(3), pp.878-889. |
| Brick, T., Schober, Y., Böcking, C., Pekkanen, J., Genuneit, J., Loss, G., Dalphin, J.C., Riedler, J., Lauener, R., Nockher, W.A. and Renz, H., 2016. ω-3 fatty acids contribute to the asthma-protective effect of unprocessed cow’s milk. Journal of allergy and clinical immunology, 137(6), pp.1699-1706. |
| Ege, M.J., Mayer, M., Normand, A.C., Genuneit, J., Cookson, W.O., Braun-Fahrländer, C., Heederik, D., Piarroux, R. and von Mutius, E., 2011. Exposure to environmental microorganisms and childhood asthma. New England Journal of Medicine, 364(8), pp.701-709. |
| Loss, G., Apprich, S., Waser, M., Kneifel, W., Genuneit, J., Büchele, G., Weber, J., Sozanska, B., Danielewicz, H., Horak, E. and van Neerven, R.J., 2011. The protective effect of farm milk consumption on childhood asthma and atopy: the GABRIELA study. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 128(4), pp.766-773. |
| Joyce, E.Y. and Miller, R.L., 2016. Got milk? Understanding the farm milk effect in allergy and asthma prevention. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 137(6), pp.1707-1708. |
| Riedler, J., Braun-Fahrländer, C., Eder, W., Schreuer, M., Waser, M., Maisch, S., Carr, D., Schierl, R., Nowak, D. and Von Mutius, E., 2001. Exposure to farming in early life and development of asthma and allergy: a cross-sectional survey. The Lancet, 358(9288), pp.1129-1133. |
| de Klerk, J.N. and Robinson, P.A., 2022. Drivers and hazards of consumption of unpasteurised bovine milk and milk products in high-income countries. PeerJ, 10, p.e13426. |
| Dehghan, M., Mente, A., Rangarajan, S., Sheridan, P., Mohan, V., Iqbal, R., Gupta, R., Lear, S., Wentzel-Viljoen, E., Avezum, A. and Lopez-Jaramillo, P., 2018. Association of dairy intake with cardiovascular disease and mortality in 21 countries from five continents (PURE): a prospective cohort study. The Lancet, 392(10161), pp.2288-2297. |
| Zhuang, P., Liu, X., Li, Y., Ao, Y., Wu, Y., Ye, H., Wan, X., Zhang, L., Meng, D., Tian, Y. and Yu, X., 2025. A global analysis of dairy consumption and incident cardiovascular disease. Nature Communications, 16(1), p.437. |
Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, you won’t pay a penny more, but we’ll get a small commission which helps us keep things running. Thanks!
2 thoughts on “Episode 175 What’s the deal with raw milk: Part 2”
LOVED this episode. thank you!
Are milk pasteurized before it is processed into other products (cheese, yogurt, etc) or are those products pasteurized later in production?
Do raw milk drinkers swear by unpasteurized other dairy products too?
Comments are closed.