Raw Milk in the News
Wisconsin: Farmer Accused Of Selling Raw Milk Stays Free
Channel 3000 reports that a Sauk County farmer accused of selling food and dairy products, including raw milk, without a license appeared in court on Friday while his supporters rallied nearby against the prospect of him facing jail time.
Vernon Hershberger said he came to court prepared to go to jail because of a bond violation as he faces several misdemeanor counts, but Judge Guy Reynolds declined to revoke his bond.
Prosecutors had sent a letter to the judge saying that they believe Hershberger had violated terms of his pretrial release by continuing to sell raw milk and other products on his farm, based on a recent state Department of Agriculture visit.
During Friday’s proceedings, Hershberger represented himself. He said that he didn’t violate any terms and doesn’t sell raw milk. He said he simply cares for animals and procures their food for members of a private club.
“I have no jurisdiction about what happens. The food belongs to the other people, and I do not have jurisdiction to tell them what happens with that food. (I) just wanted you to know,” Hershberger said.
He said he’s prepared to go to jail, and that the Department of Agriculture visits trespassed on his privacy.
“We don’t sell milk. I want to get that clear. We don’t sell milk. All we have is a big pantry on the farm, where the owners can come in and get their milk,” he said.
Reynolds said that he wasn’t going to take any action on Hershberger’s bond. He said that the state must file a formal motion before he could.
“The court isn’t going to respond to letters. The court takes action on properly served and filed motions,” he said. “And that’s true for both sides to this controversy.”
However, the judge did have a message for Hershberger.
“I admonish you, Mr. Hershberger, that you are to follow my bond conditions,” he said. “And, I expect you will. And if you don’t, you can be separately prosecuted for that.”
Attorneys with the state Department of Justice, who are prosecuting the case, declined to say why they didn’t file a formal motion with the judge to revoke Hershberger’s bond.
Read the whole story: http://www.channel3000.com/money/30597746/detail.html
California: Raw Milk Farmer Arrested On Embezzlement And Fraud Charges
The Ventura County Star reported that Sharon Palmer who operates Healthy Family Farms, was taken into custody on a warrant from the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office at the end of a scheduled hearing concerning illegal sale of raw milk in a Los Angeles courtroom. Palmer was booked into Los Angeles County jail with bail set at $2 million. Jame Stewart from the Rawesome food club, facing similar charges in Los Angeles County, was also arrested with bail set at $1 million.
Ventura County Senior Deputy District Attorney Chris Harman said Palmer faces 38 felony counts, including two counts of conspiracy, multiple counts of grand theft involving several victims, two counts of elder theft, several counts of money-laundering, violations of the corporate code relating to the offer and sale of securities, and tax evasion.
The crimes are alleged to have occurred between Feb. 1, 2008, and April 1, 2009.
Stewart is charged with 37 counts in the felony complaint, and a third defendant Larry Otting is charged with 14 counts.
Harman said Palmer faces a significant amount of time in prison based on the amount alleged to have been stolen, which includes $1,144,542.10 from Rabobank.
Harman confirmed that Palmer has previous felony convictions in state and federal court for mortgage fraud.
Bromund said Palmer, a single mother of three teenage children, is not involved in any criminal conspiracy and characterized her as a victim of manipulation.
He said his client has made all her court appearances relating to the felony charges in Los Angeles County and in an ongoing misdemeanor prosecution in Ventura County relating to the false advertising of raw unpasteurized milk products as pasteurized.
“She’s not a flight risk at all,” said Bromund.
It’s not clear when Palmer will be transported from Los Angeles to Ventura County or when exactly she will be formally arraigned.
Palmer is facing felony charges in Los Angeles County as part of an alleged criminal conspiracy to produce and sell unlicensed raw milk and related dairy products in Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.
Palmer and Stewart, along with a third defendant Victoria Bloch, have pleaded not guilty to the raw milk charges.
Read more: http://www.vcstar.com/news/2012/mar/02/santa-paula-woman-arrested-on-multiple-felony/#ixzz1o4tLInsf
- vcstar.com
Read previous coverage about this story: http://www.realrawmilkfacts.com/raw-milk-news/story/raw-milk-seller-accused-of-fraud-at-farmers-market/
Health Professionals Speak Out About Proposed Raw Milk Legislation in Iowa
Public health professionals, Drs. Russell Currier and Mary Gilchrist, provided the Des Moines Register with a thought-provoking editorial on a raw milk bill being considered by the 2012 Iowa Legislature. If passed, the legilation would permit sales of raw milk on the farm directly to consumers or for targeted home delivery by producers without any regulation or oversight:
The 2012 Iowa Legislature is again considering legislation to permit sales of raw milk on the farm directly to consumers or for targeted home delivery by producers without any regulation or oversight.
This is really a bad idea and will eventually result in milk-borne illness — sometimes with serious complications.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which has oversight of interstate commerce, wisely does not permit sales and distribution of unpasteurized milk and neither should the state of Iowa.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control website (www.cdc.gov/foodsafety) warns against consumption of raw milk, particularly emphasizing the hazards to vulnerable populations, especially young children.
Another website, www.realrawmilkfacts.com, provides videos in which families tell of their agony after feeding raw milk to a loved one believing it would help them and then finding that the loved one lost kidney function or was paralyzed with Guillain-Barre disease.
Everyone who votes on the pending legislation should be required to review these two websites first.
Foods are now labeled with hazard messages regarding the potential to contain traces of allergens such as peanuts or gluten.
If this legislation is passed, we recommend similar “truth in labeling” be required as follows:
“Caution, this product could contain traces of bacteria such as:
E. coli strains that can destroy children’s kidneys and sometimes kill them.
Campylobacter that causes bloody diarrhea and sometimes paralysis or joint afflictions.
Listeria that causes meningitis that is often fatal to the elderly and causes abortions in pregnant women.
Consume at your own risk.”
Citing superior taste and claiming health benefits that cannot be substantiated with well-controlled, large studies, advocates for raw milk argue that they should have the right to consume whatever they wish.
Should that right be extended to what they feed their children? We have laws that protect children, requiring protections such as auto safety seats.
Should that right be extended to allow them to transmit such infections to others, which is easily done in childcare and other congregate settings?
Should that right extend to their raising the tax burden on all Iowans when expensive outbreak investigations are necessary?
Should that right extend to increasing health care costs for everyone when sickened people are hospitalized for extended periods and may require dialysis for years?
Many of the people who drank raw milk as children and were lucky to have survived may have a degree of immunity to the pathogens that sickened them.
Until recently, E.coli O157 and Campylobacter were probably present but were as yet unknown to science. Even now, their detection in human illness is uneven, making detected cases the “tip of the iceberg.”
Women who suffered abortions were probably not aware that they had a Listeria infection that caused it.
Cryptosporidium was not widely recognized as a cause of human disease until the 1980s and is still unevenly detected even when it is present causing diarrhea of prolonged duration.
Well-intended people who extol the virtues of raw milk because they have not had recognized illnesses themselves have been responsible for many severe illnesses among those whose immune systems had not experienced such infections.
Thanks to judicious decisions by our Legislature, Iowa remains one of the states that does not allow any sales of raw milk, in any form, and under any circumstance.
Witness Pennsylvania where as of Feb. 13, 65 people (56 in Pennsylvania, four in Maryland, three in West Virginia and two in New Jersey) have been sickened recently with campylobacteriosis by drinking raw milk.
The status quo of prohibiting sales of raw milk as such should be maintained as being in the best interest of the public’s health as well as the economy.
About the authors: Russell W. Currier, DVM. of Clive is president of the American Veterinary Medical History Society. Mary J.R. Gilchrist, Ph.D. of Solon is the retired director of t he State Hygienic Laboratory at the University of Iowa and t he William A. Hinton State Laboratory Institute in Massachusetts. Contact: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) mjrg@sout hslope.net.
Read the original opinion piece: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20120219/OPINION01/302190033/-1/BUSINESS04/Iowa-view-Unpasteurized-milk-unnecessary-legislation
View the 2012 Bill: http://coolice.legis.state.ia.us/Cool-ICE/default.asp?category=billinfo&service=billbook&GA=84&hbill=HSB585
Maryland and Pennsylvania Report Cases of Campylobacter Infection Associated with Raw Milk
Meredith Cohn with The Baltimore Sun reported that six people were infected with Campylobacter by raw milk from the Family Cow dairy store in Chambersburg, Pa., including three in Maryland, according to the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The bacteria causes diarrhea, nausea and vomiting and can progress into a more serious bloodstream infection, usually two to five days after exposure. The state agency and the health department in Pennsylvania are advising consumers to discard any product bought from this farm since Jan. 1.
The implicated milk comes in plastic gallon, half gallon and pint containers and is sold directly to consumers on the farm and at drop off points and retail stores in Pennsylvania. It’s illegal to sell unpasteurized milk in Maryland, though some consumers have reported getting it anyway at pre-determined drop off points.
Raw milk has become popular with some people who believe it has superior nutrition because it’s not heated to kill germs like pasteurized milk. Studies, however, have not confirmed this, and federal and state authorities continue to warn about the dangers of unpasteurized milk, ice cream, yogurt and some cheeses.
Last year Maryland reported nearly 600 Campylobacter infections. Infections can also come from eating raw or undercooked poultry or from cross-contamination as well as contaminated water in the developing world, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Read the whole story: http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2012-01-27/health/bs-hs-raw-milk-illness-20120127_1_raw-milk-unpasteurized-milk-organic-milk
Link to state press release: http://www.dhmh.state.md.us/publicrelations/pr/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?ID=96
Tests Show Raw Milk Farmer Does Not Have Brucellosis
From Food Safety News
No Raw Milk Link, No Brucellosis in Massachusetts
A Massachusetts resident who first tested positive for brucellosis has now been confirmed to not have the infection, according to an email from the assistant commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR).
“While initial test results did show up positive, further, more specific and accurate testing by the CDC confirmed that the person does not have brucellosis,” Nathan L’Etoile wrote in the message forwarded by the NOFA/Massachusetts Raw Milk Network.
As a result, the MDAR “will be rescinding the Cease and Desist from the sale of Raw Milk” order that had been issued in the state last week, the email stated.
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH), in an email, also confirmed that “the patient did test negative for brucellosis. The milk and the cows also tested negative for any brucellosis bacteria. Neither DPH or DAR have any health concerns at this time.”
On Jan. 20, the MDAR and the DPH issued a consumer alert for raw milk from Twin Rivers Farm in Ashley Falls, MA “due to the possibility of raw milk being contaminated with Brucella.”
That earlier news release stated, in part: “This investigation is being conducted in response to a suspected human case, following an individual’s contact with this farm. The presence of Brucella in raw milk represents a significant danger to public health.”
In his email Thursday, L’Etoile wrote, “All in all this has been a trying experience, but the cooperation and willingness to take the steps needed by MDAR, DPH, USDA and most importantly the farmer has helped immensely.”
Read the whole story: http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/01/no-raw-milk-link-to-brucellosis-in-massachusetts/
Twin Rivers Farm Raw Milk (“Possibly”) Linked to Brucella Illness
From Food Poison Journal:
Posted by Bill Marler on January 20, 2012
My dear friend, David Gumpert (“The Pope of Raw Milk”), suggested that I may have jumped the gun on linking Twin Rivers Farm raw milk to the Brucella illness. Mixed into his typical lawyer bashing and incorrect suggestions about why I do what I do, I certainly can concede his point that the Brucella illness might well be linked to other farm-related practices. So, despite the health department’s suggestion to discard the milk due to the risk, I have added “Possibly” to the headline. I hope that satidfies the “Holy See.”
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health issued a consumer alert on Friday after learning that a local farm’s raw milk could be contaminated with Brucella. Brucellosis, also called Bang’s disease, Crimean fever, Gibraltar fever, Malta fever, Maltese fever, Mediterranean fever, rock fever, or undulant fever, is a highly contagious zoonosis caused by ingestion of unpasteurized milk or meat from infected animals or close contact with their secretions.
Twin River Farm in Ashley Falls is the subject of a DPH investigation after a suspected human case was reported by an individual who had contact with the farm.
According to the DPH, Brucellosis is a bacterial infection that can cause flu-like symptoms including sweats, headache, fever, swollen lymph nodes, and back pains. In some cases, the infection can cause long-lasting and chronic symptoms. Adults are more likely to fall seriously ill than children.
Twin Rivers Farm milk is not sold in retail stores and the advisory does not apply to pasteurized milk. Anyone who has purchased raw milk from the farm is advised to discard it. Those who have consumed it are told to seek medical attention and contact their local board of health.
Raw milk containers from Twin River will have the following information on them:
Twin Rivers Farm PO Box 408 Ashley Falls, MA
Read the original post: http://www.foodpoisonjournal.com/foodborne-illness-outbreaks/twin-rivers-farm-raw-milk-linked-to-brucella-illness/
Link to The Complete Patient commentary: http://www.thecompletepatient.com/journal/2012/1/22/food-pathogen-mystery-in-ma-how-did-dairy-farmer-robert-kilm.html
IDFA Commends Actions to Deter Human Consumption Of Raw Milk
From the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) website:
Two recent actions, one at the state level and another at the federal level, underscored the importance of pasteurization for milk sold to consumers and helped to protect the dairy industry’s strong food-safety record.
The New Jersey State Senate’s Economic Growth Committee last week removed from consideration a bill that would have legalized the sale of raw milk to consumers in the state. Earlier this week, the White House responded to a public petition, turning down the request to legalize raw milk sales for consumers across the country.
The New Jersey committee was set to hear testimony on a bill, A. 743, which would allow the sale of raw milk to consumers at the farm level. The bill had been passed by the State Assembly in April and was awaiting Senate approval. The committee chairman, Senator Stephen Lesniak (D-Union), pulled the bill from the hearing agenda due to significant opposition, effectively killing the bill for the rest of the legislative session.
IDFA sent a letter last March to the committee members and sent a joint letter with the National Milk Producers Federation in April to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Senate Majority Leader Stephen Sweeney in opposition to the bill.
White House Response
The White House response reiterated the administration’s belief that raw milk for human consumption has potentially dangerous health risks and should not be allowed for sale across interstate lines. The response, written by Doug McKillop, senior policy advisor for rural affairs, stressed that claims of extra nutritional value in raw milk are unfounded and that raw milk has been shown to cause illness.
“This administration believes that food-safety policy should be based on science,” McKillop said. “In this case, we support pasteurization to protect the safety of the milk supply because the health risks associated with raw milk are well documented.”
Read the petition and the White House response.
IDFA has consistently opposed the sale of unpasteurized milk to consumers, because it may contain harmful bacteria that can cause life-threatening illnesses. The Centers for Disease Control and the Food and Drug Administration recommend that no one consume unpasteurized milk, and federal law prohibits the retail sale of unpasteurized milk across state borders.
Raw milk regulations vary by state, however, and some states allow the sale of raw milk to local retail food stores or directly from the farm to consumers within their borders. Other states have considered expanding access to raw milk, and IDFA will continue to monitor and oppose these actions.
“We congratulate the New Jersey State Senate and the White House for looking out for the safety of consumers,” said Jerry Slominski, senior vice president of legislative affairs and economic policy. “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and other organizations have endorsed the pasteurization of milk and restriction of the sale of products containing raw milk.”
Read the original article: http://www.idfa.org/key-issues/category/food-safety—defense/details/6832/
California: E. coli found on Raw Milk Dairy
The Associated Press reported that environmental samples collected from a Central California raw milk dairy’s calf area tested positive for the strain of E. coli that infected five children last year, according to a letter from California health officials made public Friday.
In the letter to Organic Pastures Dairy Co. owner Mark McAfee, the California Department of Public Health said 10 of the samples taken from manure, soil, water and work surfaces at the Fresno County dairy tested positive for the kind of E. coli that can make people sick. The bacteria live in the digestive tracts of animals like cows, so it would not be unusual to find them at a dairy.
But two of the samples, according to the letter, had a genetic pattern indistinguishable from the outbreak strain.
“The fact that E. coli O157:H7 identical to the outbreak strain was recovered from OPDC environmental supports the probability that the OPDC raw milk that the case patients consumed was similarly contaminated leading to their illnesses,” wrote Patrick Kennelly, chief of the health department’s food safety branch.
California officials recalled and quarantined the dairy’s raw milk products in November after three children who drank Organic Pastures milk were hospitalized. But officials did not find E. coli in either the company’s recalled products or the bottles taken from the homes of the sickened children, and the recall and quarantine were lifted in December.
“Cows’ stool is the most common reservoir of E. coli O157:H7 and it does not cause cows illness,” said Bill Marler, a Seattle-based food safety lawyer. “The problem for Organic Pastures is that they not only found 10 samples that were positive for E. coli but also found two samples that were a genetic fingerprint match to the ill children. That strain is a unique strain, and it helps tie the fact that the most likely source of the children’s illnesses came from the farm.”
Read the whole story: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505245_162-57363242/e-coli-found-in-raw-milk-dairys-calf-area/
Washington: Frisia Dairy Recalling Raw Milk Products
A Tenino dairy says it’s recalling its fluid raw milk products because of the danger of contamination with potentially harmful E.coli bacteria.
Frisia Dairy and Creamery distributes unpasteurized whole and skim milk and cream through sales outlets in Lewis, Thurston and Pierce counties and through the farm itself.
There have been no reported illnesses related to the recalled products, the dairy said.
The dairy initiated the voluntary recall after a test by the Washington State Department of Agriculture in a routine sampling found E.coli bacteria in a skim milk sample.
The dairy said it and the agriculture department are continuing an investigation into the source of the contamination. No other samples were found to contain that bacteria.
Toxin-producing E. coli infections may cause severe diarrhea,
stomach cramps and bloody stool. Symptoms generally appear three to
four days after exposure, but can take as long as nine days to appear.
Anyone experiencing these symptoms should contact a health care
provider, the dairy advised.
The infection sometimes causes hemolytic uremic syndrome, a serious
disease in which red blood cells are destroyed and the kidneys fail.
Infants, children, pregnant women, the elderly and those with compromised immune systems are especially at risk.
The milk products are sold in pint, half-gallon, and gallon containers. Recalled fluid raw milk products were sold from the on-farm location at 4800 Skookumchuck Rd SE, Tenino and from the following locations:
Olympia Food Co-op
3111 Pacific Ave.
Olympia
Yelm Co-op
404 First St.
Yelm
Mt. Community Co-op
105 Carter St.
Eatonville
Shop-N-Kart
2100 N. National Ave.
Chehalis
Olympia Food Co-op
921 Rogers
Olympia
Olympia Local Foods
2442 Mottman Road SW
Tumwater
Baily’s IGA
10333 Hwy 12 SW
Rochester
Tenino IGA
669 Lincoln Ave.
Tenino
Consumers who have purchased any recalled products are urged to return them to the place of purchase for a full refund. Consumers with
questions may contact the company at 360-264-8668.
Retail raw milk is legal to buy and sell in Washington, but there are
serious potential health risks, the agriculture department said.
Consumers should read the warning label on the retail raw milk container carefully and ask their retailer to verify the milk was produced and processed by a Washington State Department of Agriculture licensed operation.
Read more here: http://blog.thenewstribune.com/business/2012/01/17/frisia-dairy-recalling-raw-milk-products/#storylink=cpy
Read Food Safety News interview with the dairy owners: http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/01/washington-state-dairy-recalls-raw-milk/
Dairy Ends Sales Of Raw Colostrum
From Food Safety News:
by Cookson Beecher | Jan 16, 2012
Organic Pastures will no longer be producing or selling raw colostrum for human consumption, according to an announcement on the dairy’s Facebook page.
Based in Fresno, CA, Organic Pastures is the largest producer of raw milk (milk that hasn’t been pasteurized) in the nation. Colostrum, which is the first “milk” produced by mammals, including humans, after giving birth, confers passive immunity from the mother to the newborn.
Mark McAfee, co-owner of the dairy, told Food Safety News that Organic Pastures was the only creamery-dairy in the United States to hold a permit to sell fresh, raw cows’ colostrum.
“Now that is gone,” he said.
In November last year, California’s Department of Food and Agriculture imposed a quarantine on all of Organic Pastures’ raw milk and raw-milk products, including its raw colostrum, after the state’s Department of Public Health identified a cluster of five children in four counties who had been infected from August through October with the same strain of E. coli.
Interviews with the families of the children revealed that all of the children had consumed unpasteurized milk from Organic Pastures. Although tests of milk in the families’ homes, conducted after the children’s illnesses were lab-confirmed, were negative for E. coli, the department concluded that the dairy was the likely source of the infections—because the dairy’s raw milk was the only common exposure among the children.
At the time, Organic Pastures was selling 3 raw colostrum products—Colostrum, SuperLite and Qephor. It wasn’t selling them as milk products, but rather as dietary supplements, under an agreement with California’s Department of Health Services, which has since split into the Department of Health Care Services and the Department of Public Health.
Although the state has lifted the quarantine on the dairy’s other products, the quarantine on its raw colostrum products remains in effect. Dairyman McAfee said there was no link between the outbreak and the dairy’s raw colostrum products, pointing out that according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture and the Department of Public Health, none of the children sickened in the 2011 outbreak drank raw colostrum.
Attributing passage of the federal Food Safety Modernization Act last year as the reason for heightened scrutiny on raw products, the dairy’s Facebook page said that the state will no longer regulate raw colostrum for human consumption.
For the past 7 years, Organic Pastures had been selling its raw colostrum to a corps of devoted customers. The dairy’s recent announcement that it would no longer be selling it for human consumption triggered a tirade of comments ranging from “devastating” and “really terrible news” to a warning that this was yet another example of governmental “tyranny.”
McAfee said there are hundreds of consumers for colostrum, and while that may not be a very large group of consumers compared with the thousands of raw-milk consumers, it’s a very “passionate” group.
“They’re really upset about this,” McAfee said.
He also said that the California market for fresh colostrum is about $300,000 per year.
Asked why raw colostrum previously was allowed to be sold as a dietary supplement, the state’s health officials responded, “Colostrum, in a variety of forms, has been used as an ingredient in a number of dietary supplements, and California Public Health Department regulates supplements used in food.”
Meanwhile, Organic Pastures is negotiating with the state’s Food and Agriculture Department to bring a new product to market. This one will be fermented grade A milk branded as Qephor. Instead of raw colostrum, raw milk will be used in this new product. McAfee said he hopes to have the product on the shelves within a week or so.
This version of Qephor will be cultured in a low-concentration of raw milk with kefirgrains from the Caucusus mountains of Russia.
“This will take some of the sting out of it,” McAfee said, referring to the end of sales of raw colostrum for human consumption from his dairy.
But McAfee also knows that for some customers, nothing but raw colostrum will do.
Pet Food
“The door is still open,” he said, explaining that people can come to the farm to buy raw colostrum, but they’ll have to sign an affidavit that it’s for animal use only.
He said that the dairy will be producing the raw colostrum under the state’s same strict standards for low bacteria count as required for raw and conventional milk. And while Organic Pastures in the past did outsource some of its colostrum from other dairies, McAfee said it hasn’t outsourced the product for the past 5 years.
“None of it will be outsourced,” he said.
Referring to the popularity of the product as a health supplement, McAfee called some of its devotees “colostrum hoarders.”
He said he’s seen some of them buy 250 pints at a time—at $8 a pint.
In an email to Food Safety News, Steve Lyle, a spokesman for the California Department of Food and Agriculture, said that Organic Pastures has been notified that, under California law, colostrum is not permitted to be sold as human food.
“This agency does not have jurisdiction should the dairy attempt to market colostrum as pet food,” he said. “However, CDFA investigators will be monitoring the situation to make sure colostrum, in fact, is not marketed for human consumption.”
Colostrum’s Benefits?
Colostrum offers important health benefits to mammals’ newly born offspring, whether they be cows, whales, cats or humans. That’s because colostrum contains immunoglobulins—large proteins—that transfer passive immunity from mother to offspring.
According to a 2011 report, “Immunoglobulins in Colostrum and Milk,” by animal scientists Walter Hurley, at the University of Illinois, and Peter K. Theil, at Aarhus University in Denmark, the immunoglobulins in cows’ colostrum and milk can also provide immunological benefits to other mammals, including humans. Even so, the scientists concluded that additional research is needed to clarify how this works when used in mammals (including people) that are more mature than newborns—children and adults, for example.
A Google search for “colostrum” reveals that there’s a whole world of colostrum products out there, among them, some offered by Amazon.com. The company is also selling a book titled “Colostrum: Nature’s Gift to the Immune System.”
The general gist is that people who drink cow’s colostrum—whether it’s fresh from the cow or a mixture made from powdered colostrum—can reap health benefits such as an increase in lean muscle mass, flu prevention, neutralization of harmful bacteria in the gut, stronger immune systems, and even longevity.
Risks
But food-safety experts warn that those health claims don’t add up to a green-light-go for humans to drink raw dairy colostrum. They warn that like any raw dairy product, certain risks go with the territory, and may outweigh any benefits.
Michele Jay-Russell, a veterinarian and food safety specialist at the Western Institute for Food Safety and Security at University of California, Davis, told Food Safety News that raw colostrum from cow-to-calf or human-to-baby during the first days of life is highly beneficial and helps build the newborn’s immune system.
But she also pointed out that raw colostrum is very susceptible to contamination with harmful bacteria when it is collected and stored on the farm, or delivered to stores. She said that if it’s left on the counter at room temperature for even a short time, pathogens such as E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella may quickly grow to dangerous levels.
“For these reasons, feeding raw colostrum from cows or other barn animals to human babies or young children is very risky,” she said. “Medical and public health organization worldwide advise people to avoid raw dairy products from farm animals, including colostrum.”
Jay-Russell also pointed to a research survey of raw colostrum on farms in Pennsylvania, including small dairies, that found high levels of fecal bacteria in colostrum samples.
“Approximately one in every six raw colostrum samples were positive for Salmonella in their survey,” she said.
In a letter sent to Karen Ross, secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture in late November last year, food-safety attorney Bill Marler (publisher of Food Safety News) had warned Ross that “you have a product that is . . . putting children’s health at risk, a matter that your regulatory team should resolve immediately.”
He pointed out that raw colostrum was not regulated by the department and said that under the state’s Food and Ag Code, it should be because it “resembles milk.” He said that under the code, products containing milk or resembling milk need to meet the same safety standards as the milk product it contains or resembles.
“It is imperative that the CDFA regulate this product immediately,” Marler said in his letter, which as of Jan. 14 remained unanswered.
Marler also told Ross that a state report from 2006, when Organic Pastures was also linked to an E. coli outbreak, revealed that the dairy’s colostrum products had “extremely high coliform counts,” which is an indirect measure of fecal contamination
In addition, he referred her to a survey of bacteriological quality and the occurrence of Salmonella in raw bovine colostrum. In the same letter, Marler said that “a key market for colostrum in California is a parent who uses it to make homemade raw infant formula for babies as a replacement for breastfeeding and commercial formula feeding.”
“A baby’s death in the future is not out of the realm of possibility, particularly if this product continues to be unregulated,” he warned.
In an email to Food Safety News after Organic Pastures announced it would no longer be selling raw colostrum for human consumption, Marler once again emphasized that colostrum is a dairy product and should be treated as such.
“It certainly should not be sold as an unregulated supplement,” he said.
Read the original story: http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/01/dairy-ends-sales-of-raw-colostrum/
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Real Life Dangers of
Raw Milk
Several families offered to share their stories on video to help raise awareness about the potential risks and negative effects on health from drinking contaminated raw milk.
