Raw milk poses threat, study says

Raw milk and other unpasteurized dairy products are linked to a growing number of disease outbreaks, researchers warn.

Writing in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, scientists from the College of Veterinary Medicine in Columbus, Ohio, say that the average number of disease outbreaks per year associated with raw milk has more than doubled to 5.2 per year from 1993 through 2006 compared to the previous 19 years. 

Contamination with disease-causing bacteria can occur at any point along the route from cow to human, including collection, processing, distribution, and storage, the authors say. Pasteurization is the most effective way to destroy microbes such as salmonella, E. coli, and listeria. Last year’s outbreak of listeriosis, in which three people died, was unusual in that it was traced to contamination after pasteurization at a Central Massachusetts dairy.

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