Unpasteurised milk carries risks

IN a recent article (Irish Examiner, Weekend, May 26) Darina Allen states she believes in “the value of unpasteurised milk from a clean herd that is guaranteed TB- and brucellosis-free”.

Ms Allen negligently fails to highlight the full dangers of unpasteurised milk. While she may be content trusting the word of a retailer that cattle have been tested free from TB and brucellosis, which can be transferred to humans via unpasteurised milk, she says nothing of the other bacterial risks of unpasteurised milk (often called ‘raw milk’).

These bacteria include salmonella species, staphylococcus aureus, campylobacter jejuni, E coli 0157H:7, listeria monocytogenes and yersinia, to name a few. All these have been traced back to serious outbreaks caused by raw milk.