Recent findings from the market research firm NielsenIQ indicate raw dairy sales have jumped by 25 percent since last year. Raw dairy products are legal to buy in 14 states while few legal barrier to accessing it exist in most other states.
While advocates claim the unpasteurized product carries a host of health benefits, none have been validated by research. Proponents argue pasteurization robs dairy products of nutrients, but experts are highly dubious.
“These claims — I’m a chemist by trade — just make no sense whatsoever on any kind of science or chemistry basis,” University of Wisconsin–Madison food science professor John Lucey told The Hill.
“I’ve been doing research on dairy products and milk for 20-plus years,” Lucey added. “In my field, nobody gives credence to these fantastic claims.”
Of the two human bird flu infections that have been confirmed in the U.S. so far, neither have been linked to drinking raw milk — but Lucey warns that it carries a high viral load of the current bird flu.
A study put out by the National Institutes of Health found that mice experienced high levels of bird flu after being given raw milk. Researchers detected high levels of bird flu in the trachea, nasal passages and lungs of the mice
According to federal regulators, there are bird flu outbreaks in 51 herds of cattle across the country.
Other than bird flu, raw milk can be a source of transmission for pathogens like salmonella, E. coli and listeria.
Read more from The Hill's Nick Robertson here.
