Pasteurization Kills Bird Flu Virus in Milk

[Superchief]

Pasteurized Milk Does Not Contain Live Bird Flu Virus, Studies Confirm

Flash pasteurization destroyed H5N1 viral particles that were highly concentrated in raw milk, confirming that standard techniques can keep dairy products safe from bird flu

www.scientificamerican.com

Another reason to drink pasteurized mil

 

[dioxide45]

There is a big difference between milk produced on a factory farm vs milk from a small dairy. To meet the demands of milk in the US, it pretty much has to be created in mass. In order to make it safe, pasteurization is key. I think pasteurization has led some in the farm industry to be lazy with how they produce milk, from the cows to the milking process. They know that pasteurization will take care of all the "bugs" in the end. So, if everything isn't up to snuff, they are covered by the pasteurization process.

Bacteria is not introduced from the milk inside the cow but rather comes from outside the cow to contaminate the milk. Many people drink raw milk and have no issues and it isn't inherently dangerous if produced and stored properly. I never drank it growing up but did eat butter made from raw milk. My grandparents had dairy cattle and drank it daily and lived into their 90s.

 

[Superchief]

I primarily posted this to alleviate anyone's fears of contracting the bird flu from drinking milk from infected cows. I agree with Dioxide about quality. The best milk I ever drank came from Mennonite farms when I lived in Lancaster, PA. It was also pasteurized.

 

[PigsDad]

There is a big difference between milk produced on a factory farm vs milk from a small dairy.

With the exception of religious communities (Amish, Mennonites, etc.), due to regulations for any milk sold to the public, today there is practically no difference in the machinery or processes used to milk cows between a small family dairy and a "factory" farm -- the only real difference is scale. Long gone are the days where any farmer hand milks or even uses under-belly tank milkers; the process is basically the same no matter the size of the dairy farm. So I disagree that there is much difference in the resulting milk. How the animals are raised and maintained, yes, but not the milk.

I grew up drinking raw, unpasteurized, non-homogenized milk. But that is because after my father decided not to have a dairy herd anymore, we kept one cow for our own use. We controlled the whole distribution chain, from the cow to our refrigerator. I would never trust raw milk that was handled through many different distribution points where they were primarily focused on profit. I'll take mine pasteurized, please.

Kurt

 

[Passepartout]

As a young kid, raw milk was pretty much what was in our house. My dad was the son of the community butcher, and stayed close to the agricultural community. But when I was perhaps 10-11ish, my pediatrician told Mom that 'the kid' (me) was getting a bit overweight and to cut me back to the dreaded 'skim' milk. Well, that only came pasteurized. So it goes.

My only beef with this and the FDA and all is the restriction on selling cheese made from unpasteurized milk in the US, I've eaten some VERY tasty cheeses in France, Spain, Switzerland, Italy that were produced from unpasteurized milk from cows, sheep, goats and more, that were delicious in ways incomparable to American cheeses. Millions of people in Europe- and even Canada- eat cheeses from unpasteurized milk. And stay healthy.

<sigh>

 

[easyrider]

We had raw milk when I was young. It's probably why I still dislike regular milk with the exception of occasionally using it as a mixer for whiskey. Raw milk kind of has an odor that is just bad, imo.

Bill

 

[gln60]

I prefer pasteurized milk myself.