The Grey Bruce Health Unit is feeling vindicated in its’ battle with Michael Schmidt over raw milk, following the release of a study in the United States.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted a 13 year study, and it found the rate of outbreaks caused by unpasteurized or raw milk was 150 times greater than outbreaks from pasteurized milk.
The study published earlier this month reviews dairy product outbreaks in all U-S states from 1993 to 2006.
While unpasteurized milk represents less than 1 percent of all milk consumed, it accounts for 60 per cent of the outbreaks.
Manager of Food Safety at the Grey Bruce Health Unit, Angela Newman, says the study examined over 44 hundred illnesses, 239 hospitalizations and three deaths.
Newman says consumers can’t tell if raw milk is safe to drink by looking at it, smelling or tasting it.
She says even under ideal conditions, collecting milk introduces bacteria into the milk and unless it is pasteurized the bacteria can grow and cause illness or even death.
The Health Unit has been battling Durham area raw milk producer Michael Schmidt for several years, over his distribution of unpasteurized milk in the area.
