Originally Posted By: Shannow
If the hygiene is so questionable, then why chase the product ?
The alternative is even more questionable. I can do without listeria and typhoid fever. With the increasing popularity of raw milk in Europe, cases of haemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS), which causes severe kidney and brain damage or death especially in children, have increased manifold over the past decade.
A Sampling of Raw Milk Incidents
July 2004--The Indiana Public Health Department advised consumers to check their refrigerators and freezers for raw milk cheese that may be contaminated with salmonella. Routine product sampling found the bacteria in lot number 139 of "Natural Raw Milk Cheese" made by Meadow Valley Farm after the cheese was distributed to farmers' markets and specialty food stores in parts of Indiana and Wisconsin.
2002-2003--Two children were hospitalized in Ohio for infection with Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium. These children and 60 other people in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Tennessee developed bloody diarrhea, cramps, fever, chills, and vomiting from S. Typhimurium tracked to consuming raw milk. The milk producer voluntarily relinquished its license for selling raw milk upon recommendation of the Ohio Department of Agriculture.
2000-2001--In North Carolina, 12 adults were infected with Listeria monocytogenes linked to homemade, Mexican-style fresh soft cheese produced from contaminated raw milk sold by a local dairy farm. Ten of the 12 victims were pregnant women, and infection with the bacterium resulted in five stillbirths, three premature deliveries, and two infected newborns.
1998--In Massachusetts, 66 people received injections to protect against potential exposure to rabies after drinking unpasteurized milk from a local dairy. A cow that died at the dairy was found to be infected with rabies. Transmission of the rabies virus through unpasteurized milk, although not the common route of infection, is theoretically possible, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Sources: CDC, Indiana State Board of Animal Health