Raw milk products, are they safe for use at home?

[Mackay]

Raw milk is legal in a number of states and I use to purchase it all the time when I lived in California back in the 70's. How many millions of quarts of raw milk are sold there a year I wonder? I haven't heard of anyone dropping dead from it. .... but eating commercial spinach? thats another matter!

 

[Wifezilla]

"From 1998 to 2008, 85 outbreaks of human infections resulting from consumption of raw milk were reported to CDC. These outbreaks included a total of 1,614 reported illnesses, 187 hospitalizations and 2 deaths."
http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm206311.htm

That may sound bad, but the contaminated pepper outbreak in 2008 made 1400 people sick. That is almost as many people in one shot instead of 10 years like the milk cases. (http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/health/2009/july/Review-of-Recent-Food-Contamination-Cases.html)

Here's the latest...
http://eatdrinkandbe.org/article/index.0621_or_subwaytests

 

[freemotion]

Pack your own lunch!!! From your own garden if possible!

 

[Wifezilla]

People have asked me if I am afraid of possible contamination because I use poopy duck water around the garden as fertilizer. Ummm...I am more afraid of Subway and the super market!!

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

i hear that, WZ!

everyone once in a while fall victim to marketing and think i need fast food.. i swear it makes me sick every darn time.

i'm not afraid of my food at all... its the rest of it that scare me! for heaven sakes, i dont even want to go out to dinner anymore.

 

[Henrietta23]

I agree WZ! I use my poopy duck water all the time. It never occured to me it would make my homegrown food unsafe. I just thought it would make it grow better! But what do I know. I'm not a huge fast food chain....
What am I afraid of? Spinach. And lemonade at the fair.

 

[jambunny]

I drink raw goats milk and raw cow milk. I like the taste better and it helps my stomach. Like everyone has said, just wash your equipment. Pasturizing goat milk changes the flavor. If you are really concerned you can always have the milk tested for bacterial counts.

 

[Wildsky]

I drink raw goats milk and raw cow milk. I like the taste better and it helps my stomach. Like everyone has said, just wash your equipment. Pasturizing goat milk changes the flavor. If you are really concerned you can always have the milk tested for bacterial counts.

My son used to get diareah from regular store bought milk, when he was younger, the only thing he could drink without upsetting his tummy was raw milk and it cost a fortune in those days - we lived in California then and I could buy like a gallon for $8 - so it was a special treat for him. (that was about 6-8 years ago)

 

[savingdogs]

Wow! that sure gave me a boost of confidence. Not a single negative comment.

Thanks for easing my mind. I like the idea of warning people however, that is a good idea, they can make their own choice then.

 

[hennypenny9]

The only people I've ever heard say anything negative about raw milk are people that won't eat or drink raw milk products. They consistently repeat the same outdated info (propaganda) that they heard "somewhere." I don't have my own milk animals, but I'd say common sense wins. Be clean, and you're unlikely to get sick. I've never gotten sick from raw milk, but then I'm very rarely sick.