Production and Consumption of Raw Milk

Michael Payne DVM, PhD

Western Institute for Food Safety and Security

University of California - Davis

Can science inform the debate pitting

consumer choice and public health ?

A cornucopia of raw milk issues to

be covered today

Background on raw milk

consumption in the U.S.

How California became an

epicenter in the debate.

Common claims made by

raw milk advocates.

Extreme danger of retail

raw milk sales.

Can raw milk be made safer

and if so how?

Raw Milk:

Panacea or

Poison?

Less then 0.5% of U.S. milk is

consumed unpasteurized.

In spite of this raw milk and cheese

result in approximately twice the

outbreaks as conventional products.

About half the states allow some

method of legal raw milk sales.

Instate shipment of raw milk for

human consumption (except for

processing first) is illegal.

CDC: 1998 - 2005 > 45 outbreaks, 100

illness, 2 deaths from raw milk or raw

milk cheeses.

A partial list of health benefits attributed to raw

milk consumption include prevention or cure of:

asthma

arthritis

anemia

psoriasis

hypertension

diabetes

tuberculosis

infertility & impotence

irritable bowel

lactose intolerance

tooth decay

certain cancers

various diseases of the

heart, kidney and prostate.

raw milk is not only healthy but a safe food for all

members of the family, even babies. To find raw milk

in your area

State Regulations Regarding Raw Cow* Milk

Sales For Human Consumption

From the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (2008)

* Excludes raw goat milk sales & regulations.

States Which Allow Retail Raw Cow Milk Sales (11 + 1)

AZ, CA, CT, ID, ME, MO, NV, NH, NM, PA, WA

(UT only if the farmer owns the store)

States Which Allow Raw Milk Sales Only On-Farm (11 + 3)

CO*, IL, KS, MA, NE, NY, OK, SC, SD, TX, VT

(*CO: Cow shares specifically legal)

(MN & WI: incidental on-farm typically w/o advertizing )

(OR: < 3 cow herd with 2 milking)

States Dont Allow Raw Cow Milk Sales (24)

AL, AK, AR, DE, FL, GA, HI, IN, IA, KY, LA, MD, MI, MS, MT,

NJ, NC, ND, OH, RI, TN, VA, WV, WY

States Which Specifically Prohibit Animal Shares (9)

AK, FL, GA, HI, IA, MD, NC, UT, WV

States That Allow Some Form of Routine Raw Cow Milk Sales (22)

2006 E. coli / California raw milk outbreak

5/6 children (4 , 2 average 8 yrs, range 6-18) w/ bloody diarrhea report

consuming same Fresno dairy brand raw

products (whole & skim milk, colostrum)

within one week of symptoms, Sept. 5 -24.

3 hospitalized, 2 with HUS.

Control: 50 O157:H7 consecutive cases

from October to June: no raw milk drank.

5 fecals available: indistinguishable DNA

patterns (genetic finger-prints) new to

CDCs PulseNet database; different from

spinach outbreak strain.

No suspect product still available.

Oct. 31 non-outbreak O157:H7 was

isolated from 3 heifers.

Colostrum had fecal coliforms ranging

from 320,000 to 140,000,000 MPN/gram. Counties Involved

Bruce T. Clark Esq.

IAFP Presentation 2009

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2b_SPCr78uQ/SMgegXkov-I/AAAAAAAADDs/u60IUc8olow/s1600-h/sheenorganicpastureslover.JPG

Chris Martin California O157:H7 patient Courtesy: William Marler Esq.

Marler-Clark Attorneys at Law

Other recent raw milk outbreaks 2007 - Campylobacter 8 ill. One

available human fecal sample had

same DNA finger-print as fecal from 4

cows from the same Fresno dairy. No

suspect product available for testing.

2007 - Listeria recall from the same

Fresno dairys raw cream. No illnesses

reported.

2008 - Campylobacter recall Fresno

dairys raw cream. No illnesses

reported.

2008 Campylobacter 16 ill, one

paralyzed with GBS from a illegal Del

Norte cow share dairy.

Also during 2008 there were 3

outbreaks in PN, CT, WA and 7

warnings or recalls in WA, NY, PN,

AB 1735 Implemented January 1, 2008

AB 1735 mandated that raw milk for human

consumption meet the same sanitary standards

as pasteurized milk (esp. 10 coliforms / ml).

Hearings by Senate & Assembly Ag Committees

My oral and written

testimony contained

ten suggestions for

making raw milk for

human consumption

safer while still

maintaining

consumer choice.

A summary of these

ten proposals

follows

The Raw Milk Mantra 1) Raw milk products have never been shown conclusively to

have made anyone sick.

2) Cows raised on pastures dont have pathogens.

3) Even if pathogens were present, the good coliforms present

in raw milk would kill the bad pathogens.

4) Raw milk causes far fewer illnesses then does pasteurized milk.

5) The amount of illness caused by raw milk is far exceeded by

the good it does by minimizing disease.

Mark McAfee, owner of Organic Pastures Dairy

Company, Fresno Ca.

Melissa and Lauren Herzog

2005 Washington & Oregon E. coli Outbreak E. coli cases identified among consumers

participating in a unlicensed cow share

program offered by Dee Creek Farm, a dairy

with 5 milk cows in Woodland, WA.

A court order made the shareholder list

available to public health investigators

allowing them to interview 43/45 families.

Of 140 reporting consumption 18 became

ill, (ave. 8 YO, range 1- 47 yrs), 5 patients

age 1-9 yrs hospitalized, 4 with HUS (CDC).

Relative risk increased with # of cups milk.

O157:H7 PFGE patterns from 7 patients, 2

milk samples and 7 environmental samples

were indistinguishable. No O157:H7 was

cultured from the 5 cows.

June 08 owners pled guilty to distributing

adulterated food. Judge refused to enforce

one year probation plea agreement. Still

operating but without raw milk. Dee Creek Farm website photo & owners Mike and Anita Puckett

Investigations into Dee Creek Outbreak

No documentation for Bangs or TB testing.

Beef cattle contact with wild elk.

No water or waste water system in barn.

No hand washing sinks.

No bacteriological testing for farms well-water.

Mud/manure/standing water at parlor entrance.

Direct contact of milking bucket unclean surfaces.

Multiple opportunities for X-contamination.

Processing area & domestic kitchen not separate.

No raw milk warning label on containers.

Dee Creek Outbreak Investigation

Washington State Requires

License for production and processing.

Separate production & processing facilities.

Warning labels applied.

TB, Brucellosis, Q fever testing.

Only fluid milk & cream, no colostrum, no lattes.

Cheese cured for 60 days.

No food service, farmers markets, or free samples.

Sanitary hand bottling is allowed.

WSDA performs monthly pathogen testing.

Outbreak of Escherichia coli O157 Associated with Raw Milk, Connecticut, 2008

Connecticut Department of Public Health

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2b_SPCr78uQ/SMgegXkov-I/AAAAAAAADDs/u60IUc8olow/s1600-h/sheenorganicpastureslover.JPG

2) Cows raised on pastures dont have pathogens.

3) Even if pathogens were present, the good coliforms present

in raw milk would kill the bad pathogens.

Similar raw milk sponsored data for colostrum

3) Even if pathogens were present, the good coliforms present

in raw milk would kill the bad pathogens.

4) Raw milk causes far few illnesses then does pasteurized milk.

Courtesy: William Marler Esq.

Marler-Clark Attorneys at Law

Making Raw Milk Saferor

When Cooperative Extension Turns Into A Blood Sport

American Veterinary Medical

Association Annual MeetingJuly 11, 2009

Michael Payne DVM, PhD

#1: Maintain Equal Sanitation Standards

For Raw And Pasteurized Milk

2007 Survey: Washington State (23 raw dairies) & and

Maine (19 dairies) maintain both a 10 coliform/ ml limit and

vibrant and robust raw milk industries.

#2: Require Recording Devices For

Equipment Cleaning Of Raw Dairies

Research performed by UC demonstrates that recording

devices installed on Clean-In-Place (CIP) systems will

reveal inadequate cleaning-sanitation procedures that

are not always indicated by high bacterial counts.

Sanitizer for CIP system

#3: Require Development Of A HACCP

Plan For Each Raw Dairy

Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) is the most common

and successful method food processing companies use to establish

and document adherence to critical food safety procedures

However there can be no functional HACCP without rigorous

sanitation testing to verify compliance (i.e. tests to show that the

HACCP program is actually working).

#4: Criminal Penalties For Out-sourcing

From Non-licensed Dairies

A California raw milk dairy reports it brings in dairy