AABP Executive Director Dr. Fred Gingrich is joined by Dr. Megin Nichols, a veterinarian who works in for the Centers for Disease Control Epidemic Intelligence Service. Nichols discusses the recent publication that evaluated outbreaks associated with consumption of unpasteurized milk and compared these outbreaks to state laws regarding the consumption of unpasteurized milk over a period from 1998 to 2018. There are 27 states that allow some form of raw milk sales and 78% of the outbreaks investigated occurred in those states. Allowing retail sale of unpasteurized milk presented an even bigger risk for foodborne illness.  Only 1-2% of U.S. adults consume unpasteurized milk on a weekly basis, but 70% of adults consume pasteurized dairy products. Nichols discusses that 202 outbreaks and 2,645 illnesses were linked to unpasteurized milk with 228 hospitalizations and 3 deaths. There were 9 outbreaks associated with pasteurized dairy products during the same time period. We discuss the role of veterinarians in ensuring food safety and communicating to consumers the risks associated with raw dairy products and the increased risk to demographic populations of the elderly and young.

Foodborne illness outbreaks linked to unpasteurized milk and relationship to changes in state laws - United States, 1998-2018.
Koski L, Kisselburgh H, Landsman L, Hulkower R, Howard-Williams M, Salah Z, Kim S, Bruce BB, Bazaco MC, Batz MB, Parker CC, Leonard CL, Datta AR, Williams EN, Stapleton GS, Penn M, Whitham HK, Nichols M.
Epidemiol Infect. 2022 Oct 25
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0950268822001649

 CDC Resources on Raw Milk