Raw Milk E coli Debate Churns in Wisconsin
Raw milk supporters arrived by busloads yesterday in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, for a legislative hearing on a bill that public health officials say could lead to E. coli O157:H7 outbreaks and deaths by liberalizing trade in unpasteurized milk and other dairy products.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel estimated the crowd at about 450 people.
Still known as America’s Dairyland, Wisconsin this year is the center of the national raw milk debate that pits science and life-threatening illness against hard-core resistance to regulation that is based on libertarianism and disproven beliefs that raw milk has more nutritional value and other health benefits.
The Wisconsin raw milk bill, which is being discussed by the Legislature this year, would legalize the sale of raw milk, buttermilk, cream and butter within wide parameters. Farmers would be required to display a health warning sign and obtain a permit.
Many states have an outright ban against raw milk sales to protect citizens from potentially deadly microbiological contamination from cow feces.
Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection officials oppose allowing sales of raw milk to the general public, saying it could lead to outbreaks of E. coli, Campylobacter and Salmonella with deadly consequences.
“Our job is to protect public health. We believe the law, the way it’s written now, does that as best as possible,” Steve Ingham, administrator of the agency’s food safety division, testified at Wednesday’s hearing.
Since 2000, four outbreaks of illness due to Campylobacter infection have been linked to unpasteurized milk or unpasteurized dairy products in Wisconsin. Those outbreaks sickened at least 131 people, according to the Wisconsin Division of Public Health.
Despite the good intentions of farmers, fecal poisoning of milk can’t be stopped reliably without pasteurization as a kill step.
The Wisconsin Public Health Association and Wisconsin Association of Local Health Departments and Boards have urged legislators not to legalize raw milk sales. Also opposed to the bill is the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation, which fears that E. coli outbreaks would give the greater dairy industry a black eye.
Many experts, including the federal Food and Drug Administration, say there are no health benefits from drinking raw milk that can’t be gained from drinking pasteurized milk.
And from a financial perspective, public health departments say they would incur enormous expense investigating all the E. coli and Campylobacter outbreaks that would occur if raw milk was legalized.
Tags: ecoli poisoning, raw milk e coli
