The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has reissued a warning about the dangers of drinking raw milk, following the publication of a report which found harmful bacteria in unpasteurised milk. The Campaign for Raw Milk Ireland described the study's findings have as "simply not relevant".
Raw milk is not subjected to pasteurisation, a process that involves heating milk to kill bacteria such as E.coli and salmonella. Advocates for raw milk argue the process also destroys enzymes and beneficial bacteria. While the majority of milk is pasteurised, a small number of farmers sell raw milk.
The authority’s microbiological survey found harmful bacteria in raw milk and in the filters used in the milking equipment. It found rates of Listeria monocytogenes and Campylobacter at 7 per cent and 3 per cent respectively, while detection rates in milk filter samples were higher at 20 per cent and 22 per cent respectively.
Raw milk filters
Salmonella was detected in 1 per cent of raw milk filters and 0.5 per cent of raw milk samples.
E.coli O26 was found in 6 per cent of raw milk filter samples, showing its potential to contaminate raw milk.
Dr Wayne Anderson, the authority's director of food science and standards, said the FSAI continued to recommend that the sale of raw milk for direct human consumption should be prohibited in Ireland.
He said the most effective way to protect public health was to ensure all milk was pasteurised or boiled, especially when served to vulnerable people. These include infants, children, pregnant women, older people and those with a weakened immune system or suffering from a chronic disease.
“While the market for raw milk is small, it remains a serious concern given the well-documented public-health risks posed by the presence of pathogens in raw milk,” Dr Anderson said.
“We are therefore recommending that raw milk should be avoided by consumers, but for those who still wish to drink it they should, at a minimum, boil the milk before drinking it to kill any potentially harmful bacteria.”
Campaign for Raw Milk Ireland spokeswoman Elisabeth Ryan said the study related to a cross-section of farms across Ireland where the milk was intended to be pasteurised.
“This study is simply not relevant to consumers who buy raw milk from small, careful farmers who are aware that their milk is destined to be consumed unpasteurised,” she said. “Unsurprisingly, there is no mention of any specific study of farms where the intention is to sell or consume raw milk.”
Choice
Campaigners for raw milk accept there is an increased risk associated with the consumption of raw milk but say people should be given the choice, just as they are given the choice to eat shellfish and eggs, foods that
also carry risk.
The Department of Agriculture banned the sale of raw bovine milk in 1996, but European Union hygiene legislation in 2006 permitted it. In November the department said it was considering introducing specified regulatory standards to apply to the sale of raw milk.
