What is unpasteurized ("raw") milk?
Unpasteurized milk—sometimes called "raw" milk—is milk that has not been treated to remove harmful germs through a process calledpasteurization. When milk is pasteurized, it is heated to a temperature that killsharmful germs.
Pasteurization is an important step in getting milk safely from the farm to your table. Germs found in the environment can contaminate milk at any point in the production process. Most commonly, germs that get into milk come from animal feces (poop). Even on the cleanest farms, poop particles are found:
-
On and around ananimal'sudder
(the part of a cow, goat, or other animal that produces milk) -
In the environment (including in soil, water, or animal poop/manure)
-
On the equipment used to milk an animal
Eating or drinking unpasteurized milk products can make people sick.When someone drinks raw (unpasteurized) milk, they also are drinking any germs that are in the raw milk. These germs can make a person sick. Disease-causing germs can also be sometimes found in dairy products (such as cheese and cream)that are made from raw milk.
What are the health risks of eating or drinking something made with raw milk?
Raw milk and dairy products made from raw milk can contain harmful bacteria such as:
Although not as common in California, raw milk can also contain germs such as Brucella, Cryptosporidium, Mycobacterium bovis, and Yersinia. Many of these germs naturally live in the intestines of farm animals.
Germs from raw milk can make people sick. The bacteria most commonly found in raw milk can cause symptoms such as:
- Diarrhea
- Stomach cramps
- Vomiting
- Fever
Other conditions such as muscle weakness and paralysis (from Campylobacter), sudden kidney failure and anemia (from STEC), or miscarriage(from Listeria monocytogenes) can also occur.
