Food that hasn't been prepared safely may contain bacteria like E. coli. Unsafe food can also spread food-borne illnesses like salmonellosis (pronounced: sal-muh-neh-low-sus) and Campylobacter (pronounced: kam-pye-low-bak-tur) infection. The good news is you can keep on top of bacteria and food-borne illness by playing it safe when buying, preparing, and storing food.

Most foods naturally contain small amounts of bacteria that pose no harm to people. But when food is poorly handled, improperly cooked or inadequately stored, bacteria can multiply quickly and cause food poisoning.Foodborne illnesses affect millions of Americans each year.Most foodborne illnesses are caused by eating food containing certain types of bacteria or viruses. After a person has eaten these foods, the microorganisms continue to grow, causing an infection. Foods can also cause illness if they contain a toxin or poison produced by bacteria growing in food.

Several different kinds of bacteria can cause food poisoning. Some of the common bacteria include:

Salmonella and Campylobacter - normally found in warm-blooded animals such as cattle, poultry, and swine and may be present in raw meat, poultry, eggs, or unpasteurized dairy products.

Clostridium perfringens - may be present in raw meat, poultry, eggs, or unpasteurized dairy products, as well as in vegetables and crops that come into contact with soil. Infection may occur when soups, stew, and gravies made with meat, fish, or poultry are stored improperly or left unrefrigerated for several hours.

Campylobacteriosis;a bacterial infection of the digestive tract caused by Campylobacter.These organisms may be found in food or water contaminated by pets or wild animals or in unpasteurized milk. Infection with Campylobacter may happen after you drink contaminated water or eat inadequately cooked food, especially poultry. Food can get contaminated when someone who is infected prepares food without washing their hands with soap and water after using the bathroom. The infection is especially likely to spread from person to person in day care centers and other institutional settings.

Yersiniosis is an uncommon bacterial infection in the intestine that is usually severe ;caused by Yersinia bacteria. Most often people become infected by eating contaminated food, especially raw or undercooked pork products. You can also become infected by drinking unpasteurized milk or untreated water (such as well water) that has been contaminated with the bacteria. Sometimes the infection occurs after contact with infected animals.

Listeriosis is a bacterial infection caused by eating contaminated food.The type of bacteria that causes the infection is named Listeria monocytogenes. The bacteria are found in the soil and in some dairy products, such as raw, unpasteurized milk and soft cheeses made from raw milk.Pregnant women are about 20 times more likely than other healthy adults to have listeriosis. Newborns may be born with the infection and may be much sicker than their mothers.

Raw milk is milk that has not been processed via pasteurization or homogenization before consumption. The taste and digestibility are different, but there is no consensus as to whether it is healthier than processed milk.The beneficial bacteria (probiotics) of pasteurized milk promote good health by crowding out bad bacteria (competitive exclusion) and help prevent yeast overgrowth in the intestinal tract, such as of Candida.Pasteurization enables the milk industry to raise cows in less-expensive, less-healthy (constrained, crowded and filthy) conditions. Organic raw milk produced in such industrial conditions would, as critics charge, be very unhealthy.Raw milk will sour naturally due to the bacterial production of lactic acid (such as Lactobacillus acidophilus), and still be healthy, whereas pasteurized milk, which lacks the healthy bacteria, will only putrefy.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are reminding consumers of the dangers of drinking milk that has not been pasteurized, known as raw milk. Raw milk potentially contains a wide variety of harmful bacteria – including Salmonella, E. coli O157:H7, Listeria, Campylobacter and Brucella – that may cause illness and possibly death.

Consuming raw milk may be harmful to health. From 1998 to May 2005 CDC identified 45 outbreaks of foodborne illness that implicated unpasteurized milk, or cheese made from unpasteurized milk. These outbreaks accounted for 1,007 illnesses, 104 hospitalizations, and two deaths. This is based on information in CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report for the week of March 2, 2007. The actual number of illnesses was almost certainly higher because not all cases of illness are recognized and reported.

Consumers who become ill after consuming raw milk, and pregnant women who believe they consumed contaminated raw milk or cheese made from raw milk, should see a doctor or other health care provider immediately.

Symptoms of illness caused by raw milk vary depending on which harmful bacteria are present. Symptoms may include but are not limited to: vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, fever, headache and body ache.

Most healthy people will recover from illness caused by harmful bacteria in raw milk or in foods made with raw milk within a short period of time. But some individuals can develop symptoms that are chronic, severe, or even life-threatening. Illnesses caused by pathogens found in raw milk can be especially severe for pregnant women, the elderly, infants, young children and people with weakened immune systems.

Since 1987, in order to better protect consumers from such risks, FDA has required all milk packaged for human consumption be pasteurized before being delivered for introduction into interstate commerce. Pasteurization, a process that heats milk to a specific temperature for a set period of time, kills bacteria responsible for diseases such as listeriosis, salmonellosis, campylobacteriosis, typhoid fever, tuberculosis, diphtheria and brucellosis. FDA's pasteurization requirement also applies to other milk products, with the exception of a few aged cheeses.

Proponents of drinking raw milk often claim that raw milk is more nutritious than pasteurized milk and that raw milk is inherently antimicrobial, thus making pasteurization unnecessary. Research has shown that these claims are myths. There is no meaningful nutritional difference between pasteurized and raw milk, and raw milk does not contain compounds that will kill harmful bacteria.

In fact, raw milk, no matter how carefully produced, may be unsafe. The CDC, the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the National Conference on Interstate Milk Shipments, the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, the Association of Food and Drug Officials and other organizations have endorsed the pasteurization of milk and restriction of the sale of products containing raw milk. Because even pasteurized milk contains low levels of nonpathogenic bacteria that can cause food to spoil, it is important to keep pasteurized milk refrigerated.

"Dont drink unpasteurized raw milk due to its potential risk of harmful bacteria"   User Opinions

alyssa :   I find your argument very unstable to prove that raw milk is bad. It is possible that raw milk can develop harmful bacteria, but as you said in the beginning of you argument... so can raw meats, poultry, and eggs. Lets not get illogical here. We don't throw it all out just because it can be harmful... we just be extra careful to prepare and store it properly. The same is true for raw milk. Raw milk does in fact have GREATER health benefits than pasteurized milk. It contains live organisms that no other foods have. They build the immune system and kill cancer cells. They provide the essential fat and nutrients dairy products are supposed to. And I don't see you mentioning the dangers of hormones in pasteurized, homogenized milk? Why don't you write an article about that, or would you totally loose your case? I'd much rather drink milk straight from a cow that grazes naturally... than one stuck rib to rib with other cows, injected with hormones to make them produce milk and th...

hope :   They also never talk about the certified dairy's. I live in Texas where we have several certified dairy's. Which means someone comes out WEEKLY and tests both the cows and the milk! The guidelines of amounts of bacteria allowed in raw milk is non existent compared to store bought milk. They just try and say the bacteria thing to keep us scared and sick! There have been far more outbreaks of illness from store bought past. milk than raw, or spinach for that matter. They fail to mention this as well! I have been drinking raw milk and have never felt healthier!

Red Dancer :   I had been drinking raw milk for over a year and loved it with no bad reactions whatsoever. For the past 2 months we'd switched back to pasteurized for financial reasons. Two weeks ago, I started having severe allergies, hay fever, and being pregnant, I am reluctant to take medication. Today, we drove up to the farm where we have a cowshare and purchased 5 gallons of milk. Upon drinking about 6 oz of the milk just for refreshment, I found about 10 minutes later, my allergies had relented and I was breathing much more freely than I had in 2 weeks! I'll never buy store milk again if I don't have to!!!!

Lisa :   I've recently switched to raw milk, and the severe digestive problems I was having with all food have disappeared. I had never been a big fan of drinking milk, since it made me physically uncomfortable all my life, but raw milk has quite the opposite effect on my digestive system. I do think that the early to mid-20th century initiatives for the elimination of bacteria in our food and on surfaces failed to realize the vital part that beneficial bacteria play in our health. Our over-use of antibiotics and anti-bacterial soaps has created super-bugs, eliminated the bacteria needed for digestion, and resulted in overgrowth of candida in many people. Furthermore, the absence of challenges by pathogenic bacteria to our immune systems is theorized to cause the recent ourbreaks of allergies and asthma over the past few decades. I think it would be wise to follow the examples of those who enjoy good health, such as the Europeans, and tread lightly in our food handling and treatment. ...

Joan :   I am one of those people who has a very sensitive system. I gave up milk 12 years ago because it produced such large amounts of phlegm and made me all the more sensitive to other allergens out there. Just over a year ago after much research, I am glad to report that I am once again a milk drinker but this time "real" raw milk - not reconstitued, pasteurized, damaging milk. My frequent travels to Europe have also convinced me that whole, untampered foods, which are the norm in much of Europe, are one main reason why many Europeans are healthy and slender instead of pumped full of chemical additives and growth hormones. Milk - raw milk - from a reputable farm where the cows are feed untampered grass is one of God's most healthful and delicious treats.

Jonathan Baumgartner :   My family recently has switched from pasteurized milk to raw milk. The reason? Lactose intolerance, milk allergy, whatever you want to call it. After drinking commercial milk, they would have problems. Switching to raw milk has made these problems disappear. I'm sure you are well aware about the destruction of beneficial bacteria and enzymes which would help digest the milk, all destroyed through pasteurization. But you don't seem keen on mentioning that in your article. Bad form. :-p

Falcon :   While raw milk contains some bad bacteria, it also contains good bacteria, which is essential for good health. Our fear of bacteria has led us to sterilize our environment to the point that our immune systems become weak and useless. When a real threat comes, our out-of-practice immune systems are easily overwhelmed. Thus, the fear of bad bacteria is not only largely unwarrented (healthy immune systems have no trouble dealing with bad bacteria), it reduces our overall health. Getting a good supply of good bacteria is just as vital to good health as good nutrition. The health of our country is deteriorating, proving that common thinking is flawed.

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