Consumption of raw milk is increasing among the self-proclaimed health conscious but is it safe?
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - The "Eat Local" and unprocessed food movements have led to a lot of people seeking out what they think are healthier, more natural options.
Many skip pasteurized milk in the grocery store and go right to the source for raw milk. The website Get Raw Milke shows more than 40 places in the Pittsburgh area where you can buy raw milk, including co-ops, organic food stores, and small dairy farms.
However, food scientists say that people drinking raw milk could expose them, their family, and even their pets to serious illness and possibly even bird flu.
Local farmer talks about raw milk and the increase in interest
Raw milk enthusiasts make up a small but growing part of the dairy market.
"We have a lot of people get milk, get milk once a week, and get two or three gallons once a week for the kids," said Lara Sheilds, the owner of Le-Ara Farms in Armstrong County. "This has been family since 1984."
They have 25 dairy cows including Shayla, Claire, and Bunny, as well as several dozen heifers and steers raised for beef. They sell milk to the dairy processors who pasteurize and homogenize it for sale but a solid portion of their business also comes from direct sales of raw milk to customers.
"We have people that are lactose intolerant but they can drink or milk," Shields said. "People are much more health conscious, getting much more health conscious."
Dr. Suresh Kuchipudi is the professor and chair of infectious disease microbiology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health and pushes back on the perceived benefits of raw milk.
"There are no known benefits of consuming raw milk and there are several significant health risks in doing so," Dr. Kuchipudi. "Salmonella is one of the common pathogens that could be a foodborne pathogen and milk is one of the sources of another bacterial infection called campylobacter."
Pennsylvania has regulations on raw milk, specifically, anyone selling it has to hold a permit from the state.
"Every load that we bottle is tested for antibiotics and quality before we go ahead and bottle it," said Shields. "We're inspected four times per year by the Department of Agriculture, and we're tested twice per year for pathogens like E.coli, listeria, and campylobacter."
What are the potential health risks of consuming raw milk?
In addition to the serious risks of foodborne illnesses, raw milk also may be a carrier of bird flu.
"There is every possibility that if a particular raw milk that is consumed by a human has the virus, they could end up getting infected," Dr. Kuchipudi explained.
"I'm not too concerned, I think there's a lot of overkill and paranoia on this stuff," Sheilds said.
Dr. Kuchipudi and his lab at the Pitt School of Public Health study emerging infectious diseases, particularly the bird flu virus. He said the latest iteration of the bird flu has been spreading from birds to cattle, to humans.
"This particular version of the bird flu virus has done a lot of weird and strange things that we haven't historically experienced," he said.
In November of last year, Pennsylvania mandated bulk testing of dairy farm milk for bird flu. According to the CDC, dairy farmers in 16 states have reported outbreaks with more than 950 herds affected. Ten of those states have reported human cases of bird flu, mainly in dairy workers or other people who come in direct contact with infected animals.
"Whenever a virus like a bird flu virus has the opportunity to transmit among birds, mammals, and also humans, the chances of the virus picking up changes and becoming a public health threat is pretty high," Dr. Kuchipudi said.
It's important to note, that so far no human cases of the bird flu have come from raw milk, though cats have died of bird flu from drinking infected raw milk.
"We in the field, including myself, are really worried about this virus because it poses a real threat of a human epidemic if it's unchecked," Dr. Kuchipudi said.
That's why Dr. Kuchipudi said that pasteurized milk is the way to go, explaining that the process of pasteurization can destroy all forms of disease-causing agents, making it safe to consume milk.
For Lara Shields and her customers, there are no concerns.
"There's been a lot of people raised on raw milk and we all tend to be very healthy," she said.
Once again, it's important to say that no cases of bird flu in humans have been linked directly to consuming raw milk, but in the days since we visited the farm and spoke with the doctor, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a newer strain of H5N1 bird flu has been detected in dairy cows showing that the virus is mutating.
