Consumptionofrawmilkposesarealisticandunnecessaryhealththreat

ArecentreviewbyBelgianresearchersfromavarietyofuniversitiesandorganisations,publishedintheinternationalpeerreviewedjournal
FoodControl,examinedtherisksandbenefitsassociatedwiththeconsumptionofrawandheattreatedcowsmilk.TheReviewaddressed
microbiological,nutritionalandhealthaspects.Rawmilkisperceivedtobeassociatedwithhealthbenefitsthataredestroyeduponheating.
However,theauthorsrefutetheseperceptionsandconcludethatconsumptionofrawmilkposesarealisticandunnecessaryhealththreat
frompossiblecontaminationwithpathogenicmicroorganisms.Furthermore,theyconcludethatheattreatmentdoesnotalterthenutritional
valueofrawmilkanditremainsthemosteffectivemethodtoincreasethemicrobiologicalsafetyofrawmilk.

Therisksassociatedwithrawmilkconsumptionaremainlyofamicrobiologicalnature. Pathogensmostcommonlyassociated
withhumanoutbreaksattributedtorawmilkorrawmilkproductsincludeSalmonellaspp.,Campylobacterspp.,Escherichiacoli
O157:H7,Yersiniaenterocolitica,ListeriamonocytogenesandStaphylococcusaureus.Thosemostatriskoffoodbornediseasesarethe
veryyoung,elderlypersons,pregnantwomenandimmunecompromisedpersons,althoughanyonecanbeaffected.Themost
commonsymptomsincludediarrhoea,vomiting,nausea,feverandabdominalcrampshowever,moresevereclinicalsymptoms
includingdeathcanoccur.Theriskposedbyrawmilkconsumptionisconsiderablyreducedandeveneliminatedbyheat
treatments,suchaspasteurisation(e.g.hightemperatureshorttimepasteurisationwherethemilkismaintainedata
temperatureof7174Cfor1540seconds),sterilisation(110120Cfor1020minutes)andultraheattreatment(UHT)(135
140Cfor610seconds).Theimpactofmilkpasteurisationontheprevalenceofhumanoutbreaksisclearlyevident.Beforemilk
washeattreatedbypasteurisation,25%ofallfoodborneandwaterbornediseasesintheUSAwereassociatedwithmilk.
Nowadaysthisnumberisbelow1%.

Thenutritionalvalueoffoodnotonlydependsonitsnutrientcontentbutalsoonthebioavailabilityofthenutrientsandtheir
contributiontotherecommendeddailyintake. Oneofthemainargumentsofrawmilkproponentsisthatheatingreducesthe
nutritionalvalueofmilkhowever,theauthorsofthisreviewrefutethisargument.Theyconcludethatalthoughheatingmodifies
thefunctionalpropertiesofmilkproteins(e.g.emulsifyingandwaterbindingproperties)ithaslittleeffectontheirdigestibility
andnutritionalproperties.Themostrelevantessentialaminoacidinmilkislysineandalthoughtheauthorsnotethatsmall
lossesareobservedafterheating,thedifferencesbetweenrawandheattreatedmilkforotheraminoacidsarenegligible.
Commercialheattreatmentsalsohavelittleornoimpactonlipids(seasonalandfeedvariationshaveabiggerimpactonlipid
content),vitamins,mineralsortraceelements.Theauthorsalsonotethatbesidesthemicrobiologicalissues,rawmilkis
nutritionallyinsufficientforinfantsandtoddlers.

Studieshavealsoshownthatmilkallergiesandlactoseintoleranceareindependentofwhethermilkhasbeenheattreatedor
not.

Theauthorsacceptthatheatingchangestheorganoleptic(sensory)propertiesofrawmilkhowever,theypointoutthat
processingtechniquesandpackagingmaterialshavebeendevelopedtominimiseoffflavours.Takingallargumentsintoaccount,
theorganolepticpropertiesofrawmilkdonotoffsetallpossiblehealthrisks,namelymilkbornediseasesandaninappropriate
nutritionalcompositionforcertainagegroups.

Forfurtherinformationpleasesee:
ClaeysWL,CardoenS,DaubeG,etal. (2013).Raworheatedcowmilkconsumption:Reviewofrisksandbenefits.FoodControl
31(1):251262.

Source:EuropeanFoodInformationCouncil