2/22/2012 5:47 AM ET
(RTTNews) - Consumption of non-pasteurized dairy products cannot be considered safe under any circumstances, warns a report released Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The report, which was prepared after reviewing dairy-associated outbreaks during 1993-2006, points out that 60 percent of the dairy-associated disease outbreaks in the said period involved non-pasteurized products namely, raw milk and cheese made from raw milk.
The interstate shipment of raw milk and milk products intended for human consumption is prohibited under federal laws in the U.S., although some states allow the sale of raw milk within the borders of the state. Since raw milk contains bacteria, with some of them being harmful, pasteurization is done to kill most of the illness-causing bacteria contained in the milk.
According to the report, the main causative agent in the outbreaks involving non-pasteurized dairy products was Campylobacter bacteria - accounting for 54 percent, followed by Salmonella (22 percent), Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (13 percent), Brucella and Listeria (4 percent each ), and Shigella (3 percent).
A total number of 4,413 illnesses were reported in the outbreaks involving dairy products in the surveyed period, and 36 percent of these illnesses resulted from non-pasteurized dairy products. The hospitalization rate in the outbreaks involving non-pasteurized dairy products was 13 percent, in sharp contrast to hospitalization rate of just 1 percent in outbreaks involving pasteurized dairy products.
There were fewer outbreaks and illnesses in states that restricted sale of non-pasteurized products.
The CDC report concluded that state officials should consider further restricting or prohibiting the sale or distribution of non-pasteurized dairy products within their states. The report also calls for federal and state regulators' continued enforcement of existing regulations to prevent distribution of non-pasteurized dairy products to consumers.
However, proponents of raw milk think otherwise as they perceive it to be more nutritious - with higher levels of nutrients and other health benefits, compared to pasteurized milk.
The subject of raw milk has been highly debated. But the recent Campylobacter outbreak from raw milk produced by Your Family Cow dairy in Pennsylvania that began at the end of January, which reportedly sickened 77 people across the states of Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, and New Jersey, only underscores the risks linked to raw milk.
by RTT Staff Writer
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