Raw Milk, Cheese Cause 840 Times More Illnesses Than Pasteurized Products, Study Finds

KEEPING OUR READERS INFORMED WITH THE LATEST NEWS UPDATES FROM THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. STAT (5/9, Branswell) reports, “Unpasteurized milk and cheeses made from it are responsible for nearly all foodborne illnesses caused by contaminated dairy products…and the growing popularity of and access to these products threaten to increase the number of disease outbreaks caused by these food items, a new study says.” Researchers found that “unpasteurized dairy products cause 840 times more illnesses and 45 times more hospitalizations than pasteurized products do,” and “there are roughly 760 reported cases of foodborne illness caused by unpasteurized milk and raw milk cheeses a year and on average 22 of those people require hospitalization.” The study, which was posted ahead of print on the CDC’s website, will be published in the June issue of the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases.