Current:Home > ScamsThe USDA is testing raw milk for the avian flu. Is raw milk safe?-LoTradeCoin
The USDA is testing raw milk for the avian flu. Is raw milk safe?
View Date:2024-12-23 10:54:14
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently announced that it would begin bulk testing batches of raw milk across the country for the avian flu, which began rapidly spreading across cattle in California earlier this year.
In a press conference on May 1, the CDC, FDA and USDA revealed that recent testing on commercial dairy products detected remnants of the H5N1 bird flu virus in one in five samples. However, none contained the live virus that could sicken people and officials said testing reaffirmed that pasteurization kills the bird flu virus, making milk safe to consume.
A continued insistence on consuming raw dairy, which was already a growing trend and concern prior to the avian flu outbreak, led the CDC to issue additional warnings in May, saying "high levels of A(H5N1) virus have been found in unpasteurized (“raw”) milk" and advising that the CDC and FDA "recommend against the consumption of raw milk or raw milk products."
Raw milk is milk that has not gone through the pasteurization process, which is a key food safety step that applies heat in order to kill microorganisms that can cause disease, including H5N1, says Meghan Davis, DVM, MPH, PhD, an associate professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Diet and food safety experts say the potential risks and equal nutritional values between raw and pasteurized milk make choosing pasteurization a no-brainer. Here's what they want you to know about the safety issues that arise with raw milk.
Is raw milk safe?
Several leading health organizations — including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatricians — all warn against the consumption of raw milk, citing serious health issues that can put both the person consuming it as well as people around them at risk.
More:More than 100 people sickened by salmonella linked to raw milk from Fresno farm
That's right — by consuming raw milk, you can actually threaten the health and safety of those around you, even if they didn't consume the milk, Davis notes. And those with compromised immune systems, including "toddlers, children, pregnant women or the elderly" are especially susceptible to getting sick.
"It's shared by pro-raw milk drinkers that pasteurization makes cow’s milk less nutritious, but that isn’t true at all," registered dietitian Jamie Nadeau tells USA TODAY. "When you’re weighing the pros and cons, it just doesn’t make sense to choose raw milk."
The major con with raw milk: It contains harmful pathogens that can cause "serious, life-threatening diseases" including Guillain-Barré syndrome and hemolytic uremic syndrome, Nadeau notes. Even if you've had raw milk in the past walked away without getting sick, it's impossible to guarantee that you won't be as lucky the next time.
"Unfortunately there’s no way to guarantee raw milk is safe, even if you get it from a farm that you trust," Nadeau says. "You can get sick from raw milk that’s from the same brand and same source that you previously drank from. Regardless of how healthy the animals are or how well-maintained the farm is, you can still get sick."
Is raw milk actually healthier?
Some people believe that raw milk is healthier than pasteurized milk because it's "less processed." That's just not true, Nadeau says.
"The nutrition changes that happen after pasteurization is extremely minimal," she says. "Pasteurized milk is just as nutritious as raw milk, and it's much safer."
Seriously, don't drink the raw milk:Social media doubles down despite bird flu outbreak
If it's a less-processed milk that you're after, Davis recommends buying commercially pasteurized but non-homogenized milk, which is also known as cream top. "This has undergone the food safety step: temperature and pressure, but not the additional processing steps," she says.
There are also misconceptions that the bacteria content in raw milk is good for your gut, but those ideas are "far-fetched," Nadeau adds. She recommends foods like yogurt, kefir, kombucha or a probiotic supplement if you're trying to incorporate more gut-heathy items to your diet.
Contributing: Mary Walrath-Holdridge
veryGood! (9)
Related
- New Pentagon report on UFOs includes hundreds of new incidents but no evidence of aliens
- What is a 'fire whirl,' the rare weather phenomenon spotted in a California wildfire
- IRS aims to go paperless by 2025 as part of its campaign to conquer mountains of paperwork
- Ohio police officer fired not because K-9 attacked man, but for talking about it
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Take the Day Off
- Can't finish a book because of your attention span? 'Yellowface' will keep the pages turning
- Sofía Vergara Is On Hot Pursuit to Kick Back on Florida Girls' Trip Amid Joe Manganiello Divorce
- Prosecutor involved in Jan. 6 cases says indictment has been returned as Trump braces for charges
- John Krasinski Reveals Wife Emily Blunt's Hilarious Response to His Sexiest Man Alive Title
- Houston Astros' Framber Valdez throws season's third no-hitter
Ranking
- 'Survivor' 47, Episode 9: Jeff Probst gave players another shocking twist. Who went home?
- Cancer risk can lurk in our genes. So why don't more people get tested?
- Takeaways from the Trump indictment that alleges a campaign of ‘fraud and deceit’
- FBI: Over 200 sex trafficking victims, including 59 missing children, found in nationwide operation
- What happens to Donald Trump’s criminal conviction? Here are a few ways it could go
- Dem Sean Hornbuckle taking over West Virginia House minority leader role
- Police search for teen in fatal stabbing of NYC dancer
- Climate change made July hotter for 4 of 5 humans on Earth, scientists find
Recommendation
-
The Fate of Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager's Today Fourth Hour Revealed
-
Sofía Vergara Is On Hot Pursuit to Kick Back on Florida Girls' Trip Amid Joe Manganiello Divorce
-
The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 is advanced and retro—pre-order today and save up to $1,070
-
Transgender rights targeted in executive order signed by Oklahoma governor
-
King Charles III celebrates 76th birthday amid cancer battle, opens food hubs
-
Helicopter crashes near South Carolina airport, leaving pilot with non-life-threatening injuries
-
FBI: Over 200 sex trafficking victims, including 59 missing children, found in nationwide operation
-
Malala Yousafzai and husband join Barbie craze: This Barbie has a Nobel Prize. He's just Ken