Dairy - Health dairy choices - organic, grass-fed, fresh, unpasteurized
Raw milk kills pathogens in milk
Raw milk kills pathogens in milk
The healthy human body lives in symbiotic relationship with microorganisms.
The following tests revealed that raw milk reduces
pathogenic bacteria in or added to the milk:
Raw Milk Challenge
Test I
Large amounts of Campylobacter (an
amount found in 20,000 grams manure) added to chilled raw milk (4°C):
Most strains showed
a dramatic decline
Day 0 =
13,000,000/ml
Day 9 = less than
10/ml
The only stain that
did not decline was a non-human strain.
Applied and
Environmental Microbiology , 1982;44(5):1154-58
Raw Milk Challenge Test II
Campylobacter in
raw milk at body temperature (37°C):
Bovine strains
decreased by 100 cells/ml in 48 hrs.
Poultry strains
decreased by 10,000 cells/ml in 48 hrs.
The protective
components worked more quickly to reduce levels of pathogens in warm milk
than in chilled milk.
Mikrobiyolji Bul ,1987:21(3):200-5
Raw Milk Challenge Test III
Lactoperoxidase in
raw milk kills added fungal and bacterial agents1,2
Raw goat milk kills Campylobacter
jejuni in a challenge test 3
1. Life
Sciences, 2000;66(25):2433-9.
2. Indian
J Experimental Biology, 1998;36:808-10.
3. J.
Food Protection ,63: 916-920.
Raw Milk Challenge Test IV
Seven strains of E.
coli O157:H7 in amounts of 1 million/ml added to raw milk.
The pathogen failed to grow and died off gradually.1
L. mono added
to raw milk at 98.6°F. After 56 hours, no viable cells of L.
mono were detectible.2
"The growth of Staph.
Aureus, S. Enteritidis and L.
monocytogenes in raw milk at 99°C was reduced markedly
compared to the growth of these organisms in pasteurized milk."3
Five strains of
E. coli O157:H7 did not grow at 41o F and decreased over
days.4
Raw Milk Challenge Test V
BSK Food & Dairy
Laboratories (2002) inoculated raw colostrum and raw milk samples at 40°F
from Organic Pastures Dairy (Fresno, California) with a cocktail containing 2.4 million Salmonella ,
9.2 million E.
coli O157:H7 and 8.1 million Listeria
monocytogenes (these huge amounts are a very unlikely
occurrence in a real-life situation).
Yet even with these
huge amounts, pathogen counts declined over time and in some cases were
undetectable within a week.
E.coli O157:H7 did
increase slightly after a seven-days decline, possibly due to exhaustion of
anti-microbial components in the milk.
The laboratory
concluded: "Raw colostrum and raw milk do not appear to support the growth
of Salmonella , E.
coli O157:H7 or Listeria
monocytogenes ."
McAffee, M.
Unpublished data.
Coliforms in raw
milk inhibit pathogen growth
Coliform bacteria
ferment lactose into lactic-acid. Coliforms are not
necessarily pathogens
With few exceptions, coliforms are not
considered to be a health risk. " . . . these rod-shaped bacteria
are found everywhere in the environment, including the gut, the feces, soil,
water and plants. However, " . . . they can be considered normal inhabitants
of many soil and water environments that have not been impacted by fecal
pollution"
". . . Research
results have shown that total coliforms may not be an appropriate bacterial
indicator of fecal pollution."
". . . Significant
concentrations of coliforms in distribution systems do not represent a
health risk to water consumers."
Stevens and others.
Review of Coliforms, Australian Government, 10-11 April 2003
Four main groups: E.coli,
Kiebsiella, Enterobacter, Citrobacter .
- Enterococci (considered
"virulent" and/or "antibiotic resistant" in hospitals) inhibit pathogens
such as Listeria in
raw feta cheese.
eurekalert.org, April, 2008.
- Lactobacillus and staphylococcus produce
bacteriocins against L.
Monocytogenes and are sold as commercial starters to
control listeria.
Hull. Australian
Journal of Dairy Technology Aug 2007;62(2):100-102
- Staphylococci , Streptococci , Lactobacillis and Ent.
faecalis in raw human milk inhibit pathogenic Staph
aureus .
Heikkila and Saris. J
Appl Microbiology 2003,95, 471-478
