Fresh milk is not completely safe

As is known, milk is a source of food with a high nutrient content, a source of essential minerals and amino acids, helps strengthen bones.

In the past, milk was susceptible to infection from cows and goats and could cause serious illness in users. This situation still exists for fresh unpasteurized fresh milk, also known as "raw" milk, unprocessed milk.

Any healthy animal we feed for milk can carry microorganisms capable of causing disease to humans. Such pathogens can exist in nourishing environments, including soil, water, pastures and animal feces. They can enter the milk through milking and if people use this contaminated milk, they can get sick.

The most common pathogens found are related to dairy farms and other dairy animals including Escherichia coli (E. coli), Campylobacter and Salmonella, as well as some parasites. Other like Cryptosporidium. In it, Campylobacter and Salmonella can cause serious diarrhea. Some types of E. coli, especially the type of Shiga toxin production (STEC) , can cause disease, weaken kidney function and may even lead to death in humans.

According to experts, milk is also a highly nutritious food source for bacteria. The bacteria can proliferate rapidly if not inhibited. Preventing the growth of bacteria in milk requires using the heating process to destroy them or cooling methods, not destroying but slowing down their development process.

For example, E. coli can spread from 10 cells to 100 million cells in just over 6 hours at 30 ° C. Only 10 cells can be enough to make any of us sick. If there is a risk of such a harmful microorganism, it is important that we prevent any potential development of it.

Harmful bacteria like these have caused a number of outbreaks or diseases related to the absorption of raw milk in many countries. US data shows that in the 13-year period up to 2011, the country had 2,384 cases of illness, 284 cases of hospitalization and 2 deaths due to the use of fresh unprocessed milk.

In Australia, raw milk infected with Campylobacter and Salmonella once caused at least 9 outbreaks between 1997 and 2008, killing 117 people.

So why do some people still like to drink fresh, untreated fresh milk?

Proponents of raw milk often claim they have a higher nutritional value and bring more health benefits than pasteurized milk, because they still maintain the natural beneficial bacteria in milk. In practice, however, there is no evidence that pasteurization (including heating milk to 72 ° C for 15 seconds) reduces the benefits of milk with health.

The sure difference between raw milk and pasteurized milk is that bacteria exist in it. As soon as the milk comes from the udder of a cow or a goat, there is always a risk of it being infected with many different bacteria on the way to our table, including harmful bacteria. These microorganisms can trigger serious human diseases, especially in children and the elderly.

For these reasons, untreated fresh milk continues to pose a high risk of harm to human health. Sterilization is still an important step to make it easier for us to enjoy nutritious milk.