Non-human milk has been part ofthe regular human diet in theUK for at least the last 7,000

years or so1 and for the vast majority ofthat time it has been consumed raw.

In the last 100 years, the pasteurisa-tion of milk has become routine and insome places is now a compulsory, legalrequirement. Homogenisation has beenaround for over 100 years, too, butreally only became widespread in theUK about 25–30 years ago.

The question is: has pasteurisationbeen of more benefit to human health interms of the reduction of infectious dis-eases passed on by the milk? Or has itbeen more detrimental in the loss of asound, nutritional, whole food, replac-ing it with a poor imitation?

What is milk?Milk is an oil-in-water suspension. Oildroplets vary in size from 0.1–20µmand are surrounded by a milk fat globulemembrane including casein micelles(32–300nm diameter) that helps tomaintain the suspension.

duction of H2O2. (If SOD activity isdiminished then this will result in ran-cidity.) One theory is that the H2O2produced activates lactoperoxidase.Pasteurisation causes substantial lossof activity.2

Milk production in the UKIn the UK the dairy herds are pasture-fed for as much of the year as is practica-ble. From November until March thecows are housed in either cubicles orloose housing (large pens for up to 50cows) and are fed on silage enriched withvegetable protein as necessary – manydairy herds use the Holstein cows, whichwere bred for their high milk output andthey need extra protein to maintain theproduction without losing weight.

In April and October the cows areturned out into pasture during the dayand brought in at night, often with sup-plemental silage feeding, as the grass isnot abundant enough at these times ofyear. But in the summer the cows are outall the time and feed only on pasture.

The Dairy Products (Hygiene) Reg-ulations 1995 are rigorously appliedbecause farmers cannot afford to loseentire loads of milk due to contamina-tion.

Dairies send inspectors to farms atleast annually to ensure the hygienequality is maintained.3

Pasteurisation HistoryPasteurisation is named after the Frenchscientist Louis Pasteur who, in the mid-19th century, originally developed theheat treatments to prevent wine fromsouring and then went on to apply thesame principle to beer and milk.4

The pasteurisation of milk was devel-oped in the early 1900s to be sufficientto destroy the most heat-resistant, vege-tative micro-organisms likely to befound in milk, Mycobacterium tuberculo-sis and Coxiella burnetti (the former isthe causative organism of tuberculosisand the latter that for Q-fever, a feverishinfection with flu-like symptoms).5

First provisions for pasteurisationwere introduced into legislation in 1922and in 1923 pasteurisation became com-mercially viable with the introduction ofsuitable equipment.6

ProcessThere are two commercial pasteurisationprocesses currently in use:

· High Temperature Short Time(HTST) – 72 deg C for 15 seconds

· Holder Technique – 60–63deg C for30 minutes

Also included in this milk fat globulemembrane are various fatty acid glyc-erides, cholesterol esters and the enzymesxanthine oxidase and 5’-ribonucleoti-dase. Within the fat globule the compo-sition is 97–99% fatty acid triglycerides,in which the ratio of C14-C23 fattyacids outnumbers the C4-C8 fatty acidsby 5 to 1. Fatty acid composition ofmilk varies depending on the breed ofcow, time of year, quality of feed andlactation stage.

Apart from casein proteins in milk(which comprise about 80% of the totalprotein fraction), there are the wheyproteins, which include lactoferrin,alpha lactalbumin and several enzymes,including: lipase, proteinases, alkalinephosphates, acid phosphatase, lactoper-oxidase, lysozyme, superoxide dismutase(SOD) and xanthine oxidase.

Xanthine oxidase catalyses the oxida-tion of hypoxanthine to xanthine to uricacid with side production of H2O2(hydrogen peroxide). In high O2, highpH, low purine conditions it producessuperoxide anions, also with side pro-

6 • issue 80 CADUCEUS

Drinking raw milk The pros and cons of processing

Ann Woodriff Beirne examines the issues andevidence involved in the debate over the benefits and

hazards of drinking raw vs pasteurised milk

Before pasteurisation all milk should bestored at around 5deg C to preventgrowth of micro-organisms that arelikely to cause spoilage of the milk.7

ReasonsRaw milk may contain several micro-organisms of various types. The greatesthealth risks are from the pathogenic bacte-ria (see box), whereas from the commercialpoint of view, the spoilage bacteria aremore important. Sometimes bacteria canfall into both categories. Milk that leavesthe healthy udder is relatively free frombacteria – bacterial contamination of milkis often from faecal or handling/processingsources.7

While there is a small risk that theStreptococcus spp. that often cause masti-tis may also find their way into the milk,this should now be minimal because thevast majority of such organisms comeout in the foremilk, which is discardedand not included in the bulk milk.8Cows that have chronic mastitis are usu-ally culled.

Before the 1920s, bovine TB waswidespread among dairy herds, as wasbovine brucellosis (causative organismsBrucella melitensis, Brucella abortus). Inthe 1930s bovine TB affected ~40% ofall cattle in the UK; today it is onlyabout 0.07%.9

MAPAn organism that has fairly recentlycaused some controversy is the so-calledMAP – Mycobacterium avis paratubercu-losis, now often referred to as Myco-bacterium paratuberculosis. This organ-ism is the causative agent of a debilitat-ing form of enteritis in cows calledJohne’s disease. It is estimated to be pre-sent in approximately 2% of cows indairy herds in 1% of farms in the south-west of England.5 Since 1913, it hasbeen linked with Crohn’s disease inhumans,5,10 although the evidence forthis is still under debate.

In response to the suggestion thatMAP may survive current pasteurisationprocesses, the dairy industry voluntarilyincreased the HTST pasteurisation to25 seconds.11 It should be noted thatMAP is found in water supplies as well,is resistant to all current forms of watertreatment and is highly adaptable toantibiotics, developing resistance rapidlyand effectively.5,10

PasteurisationBenefitsHistorically, there is no doubt that pas-teurisation reduced the amount ofMycobacterium bovis in milk. Massimmunisation of herds against it and

Whey proteins – those not in thecasein micelle and therefore found inthe water-soluble fraction of milk – areat higher risk of heat damage. Theseinclude many of the enzymes mentionedin the composition of milk above.

The Food Advisory Committee havesuggested that the whey changes aresimilar to those that occur in the firststages of digestion17 and that this wouldtherefore make no appreciable differenceto their nutritional value. However, thisis a debatable point, as the damage fre-quently involves irreversible cross-linking of proteins,16 thus renderingthem less able to be digested in thestomach.

Animal studies have been carried outthat seem to indicate that pasteurisedmilk is an inferior nutritional productcompared to raw milk (cited in 16) andthat homogenisation (q.v.) furtherreduces the nutritional value.

Young calves do not thrive on pas-teurised milk. One study on rats showedthat pasteurised, homogenised milk hada significantly increased ability to pro-voke an antibody response to bovineproteins when inoculated, suggestingthat the allergenic potential of bovinemilk proteins may be increased by theprocesses of pasteurisation andhomogenisation.18

Any beneficial bacteria, such as theLactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterspp. would be lost in the pasteurisationprocess. These bacteria are known to bebeneficial for maintaining healthy gutflora but they also contribute to the bac-teriostatic mechanisms in milk that helpprevent the growth of pathogens.

Pasteurisation is not recommendedfor human breast milk in milk banksbecause of the damage to bacteriostaticmechanisms.31 The risks of post-pro-duction contamination outweigh thebenefits, except in relation to HIV-posi-tive mothers, where the reduction of theHIV load is seen as paramount.32

culling of chronically affected cows alsohelped to reduce the infective pool of thebacterium.

When the tubercle bacillus was firstdiscovered by Robert Koch in 1882, itwas assumed that the human and bovinestrains were identical. This has since beenshown not to be the case and it was Kochhimself, in 1901, who first identified theways in which they differed. There hasbeen debate ever since about how muchof the TB in the late 19th and early 20thcenturies were attributable to M.bovis asthe infectious agent.12

The current incidence of humantuberculosis cases attributable to M.bovisis approximately 1% of all biologicallyproven cases and is low and stable atabout 45 new cases per year. Most ofthese are attributable to activation oflatent infection or are acquired abroad.13

Reducing the amount of MAP in thediet may be a step toward reducing thenumber of Crohn’s disease patients, cur-rently estimated at 80,000 in the UKand with ~4–8,000 new cases annually.14

Removing one potential source ofInfectious Intestinal Disease (IID) fromthe food chain is seen by public healthofficials and government bodies as desir-able.15 The number of IIDs from rawmilk is tiny compared with the numberof cases from, for example, chicken,eggs, undercooked meats and meatproducts but the ratio of cases to con-sumers is higher. Very few people regu-larly consume raw milk, whereas hugenumbers of people routinely eat eggs,chicken and meat products.

DoubtsOne doubt that has been raised is thatthe heat treatment of milk may de-nature the milk proteins.

Casein is relatively unaffected byHTST pasteurisation, being quite heatstable at such temperatures, althoughsterilisation and UHT treatments mayaffect it adversely.16

issue 80 CADUCEUS • 7

*as obligate anaerobes, these will not last long as vegetative cells – they formendospores to protect themselves

Common pathogenic bacteriathat may be found in raw milk

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB)Mycobacterium bovisYersinia enterocoliticaClostridium spp*Bacillus cereusEscherichia coliListeria monocytogenes

Salmonella sppStaphylococcus aureusCampylobacter jejuni

Disease condition caused

Human tuberculosis (TB)Bovine tuberculosis (TB)Food poisoningFood poisoning (also spore-forming)Food poisoningFood poisoningFood poisoning, foetal damage (listeriosis)Food poisoning (salmonellosis)Food poisoningFood poisoning

Raw milk BenefitsDr John Crewe, of the then-called MayoFoundation (now Institute), publishedan account of the benefit of raw milk inthe Certified Milk Magazine in 1929.33

In it he claims to have successfully useda raw milk diet to improve conditionssuch as high blood pressure, obesity,tuberculosis, diseases of the heart andkidneys, diabetes, prostate enlargement,psoriasis, oedema (associated with heartand renal conditions). The eponymousMilk Cure was simple – small amountsof raw milk were given to the patients athalf-hour intervals throughout the day,totalling 5–10 American quarts (5.5–11litres) in a day.

In the sanatoria of the early 20th cen-tury, tuberculin-tested raw milk was oftenprescribed to help build up the patient.16

Today UK dairy herds are in suchgood health, microbially speaking, thatthere is little risk of transmission ofpathogenic bacteria so long as goodhygiene practice is followed in the pro-cesses of milking, storage, transport andpackaging. The number of cases of ill-ness attributable to drinking unpas-teurised milk in recent years is verysmall. Although there have been severalcases of salmonellosis attributed to rawmilk, quite often no alternative sourceshave been investigated and raw milk hasbeen blamed without proof.

Post-pasteurisation contamination is arisk factor that needs to be taken intoaccount with respect to milk-borne infec-tious agents. There have been many casesof salmonellosis and Campylobacter jejuniinfection outbreaks associated with pas-teurised milk.16 It is possible that this isdue to inadequate pasteurisation but ismuch more likely to be due to post-pas-teurisation contamination.

When raw milk goes sour it is stilledible, unlike sour pasteurised milk,

come from herds that are certified asOTF (officially tuberculosis-free) andthis is checked four times a year.34

Maybe if these neonates had healthygut flora in the first place it would beharder for it to become compromisedlater by unhealthy bacteria, includingMAP. Research has shown that childrenwho were brought up on raw milk hadhigher resistance to infection by Myco-bacterium tuberculosis and to other bac-terial infections.35

However, the Government guidelinesfor raw milk state that children shouldnot be fed raw milk; they also recom-mend that babies under one year shouldnot be fed any cows’ milk, raw or pas-teurised.

DoubtsThere have been incidences of diseasewith serious consequences attributed tothe consumption of raw milk in recenttimes. In California, an unfortunateelderly lady with chronic leukaemia wasbrought into hospital suffering fromsevere Salmonella dublin bacteriaemia,from which she died 17 days later. Shewas a long-term consumer of raw milkfrom the Alta Dena dairy. Several othercases of Salmonella dublin were alsotraced back to the same dairy at thattime, with a few more hospitalisationsbut no more deaths.36

The question raised, however, is:would she have succumbed to thesalmonellosis if her immune system hadnot just been mostly inactivated by herchemotherapy treatment?

Other doubts include the risk of gas-tro-intestinal upset. In most childrenand adults the effects are distressingrather than dangerous but, again, theimmuno-compromised are at higherrisk. Neonates are also at higher risk, notonly because of their immature immunesystem, but also because of their lowbodyweight, so they run the risk ofsevere dehydration and debilitationfrom gastro-intestinal disorders.

Homogenisation ProcessThe first homogeniser was patented in1899 by Auguste Gaulin. Since then,there have been many others but thebasic process works thus:

The milk is squirted through a veryfine nozzle at variable pressures to dis-rupt the fat globule and its native mem-brane structure. The globule sizes arereduced to ~0.1 µm in diameter by thisprocess. After a few seconds, the caseinmicelles re-group around the new,smaller globules. The ratio of membraneto fat globule is much higher and this

which is foul-tasting.27 The bacterio-static mechanisms in milk help to pre-vent the spoilage of milk – pasteurisationremoves this option, thus opening thedoor to post-production contamination.

Some of the food poisoning scaresrelating to raw milk products, particu-larly the soft cheeses, have been ambiva-lent as to whether the infective agentwas present from the outset or if it wasin fact from contamination during han-dling and storage.27

8 • issue 80 CADUCEUS

In the late 1920s through to the 1940s, several papers appeared on theeffects of pasteurisation on the nutritional aspects of milk. These foundthat pasteurising milk:• Affects the haematogenic and growth-promoting properties of milk19

• Decreases resistance to pulmonary TB in children20

• Destroys or severely reduces natural ‘inhibins’ present in raw milk, whichprotect against the growth of Bacillus diphtheriae, Staphylococcus aureus,Bacillus coli, Bacillus prodigiosus, Bacillus procyaneus, Bacillus anthracis(causative agent of anthrax), Streptococci spp and unidentified wild yeast21

• Contributes to scurvy in children who had no other potential source of vita-min C intake – pasteurisation has been shown to reduce milk content of vita-min C by 25-50%22–26

• Contributes to the susceptibility of infants to infection from other pathogens23

• Contributes to the loss of vitamins A, B1, B6, B12 and folate from milk27,28

• May destroy the milk protein carriers that facilitate the absorption of iron,zinc and vitamin B12 27

• Reduces solubility of calcium and may reduce its absorption by up to 50%29,30

Replacing downer cows is one of the major costs inthe modern dairy industry. Much hamburger meatcomes from cows that become lame in confinementoperations, where cows are fed on grains and live anaverage of 42 months compared with 12–15 years forpasture-fed cows. All photos: NewTrends Publishing.

Raw milk and babiesAs well as protecting the milk itself fromspoilage, bacteriostatic mechanisms inraw milk may be beneficial to the neo-natal gut by helping with prevention ofinfection from pathogenic bacteria. As asource of lactoferrin and beneficialLactobacillus and Bifidobacter bacteria,raw milk may help to build a healthygut flora in babies who can’t or won’t bebreastfed.

In these days of super-cleanliness andüber-sterilisation, does it make sense toremove a source of potentially beneficialbacteria from neonates? Raw milk has to

means that the specific gravity of theglobules increases. Thus the new glob-ules are less able to rise to the surface ofthe milk, where they could coalesce toform the cream layer.37

ReasonsHomogenisation is a commercial processdone for commercial reasons. The bene-fits are that the milk is a uniform colourthroughout, that there is no cream layeron the surface and that the shelf-life isextended by up to four-fold. Unhomo-genised milk generally lasts about threedays, whereas homogenised milk lastsfor up to 11 days before it goes off.38

DoubtsAround 35 years ago cardiology expertDr Kurt Oster and a colleague, DrDonald Ross, started to investigate xan-thine oxidase (XO), a natural enzymefound in milk. It is also made by otheranimals, including humans, in the liver.They proposed that bovine XO wasmanaging to get into the human blood-stream directly through the gut wall andwas attacking native plasmalogen, a partof the blood vessel lining material. Thisdamage would then lead to plaque build-up and atheroma, and thence to coro-nary artery/cardiovascular disease. Infact, they claimed that it could be a lead-ing cause for the rise in heart disease.

Their contention is that the homo-genised milk fat globules are too smallto be digested; that they pass throughthe stomach virtually untouched andinto the small intestine where, if theconditions are favourable, they can passstraight through the gut wall and intothe bloodstream, bypassing the normalfat digestion processes, not entering thelacteals as digested fats do, but enteringinstead the hepatic portal blood system.They compared the fat globules to lipo-somes, artificially created packagesdesigned to deliver substances directly tothe cells without being digested enroute.39

There has since been more workdone on xanthine oxidase and its effectsthat seems to indicate that there is noreason why bovine XO should have anydifferent effect in the body than nativeXO and that in fact it may be beneficialand protective rather than damaging.40

In his book, The Untold Story of Milk(see Review), Ron Schmid cites researchdone by other scientists refuting DrOster and his colleagues’ work. Thisshows that the work they did was flawedand based on the theory that homogen-ised fat globules are too small to bedigested.

However, sheep and goats’ milk fat

milk through outlets other than registeredproduction holdings (at the farm gate orin a farmhouse catering operation) or bydistributors/milk roundsmen was bannedin England and Wales in 1985.

There is clear evidence that pasteuri-sation removes Mycobacterium bovis andM.tuberculosis from milk. However, con-trols are already in place to ensure thatmilk should come only from herds thatare officially tuberculosis-free so thisbecomes largely irrelevant in terms ofpublic health.

In the case of pasteurisation for theprevention of IIDs there is evidence thatraw milk is frequently less likely to be atfault than post-pasteurisation contami-nated milk. The number of IIDs attrib-utable to pasteurised dairy foods is muchhigher than to raw milk, although itmust be remembered that far more peo-ple consume pasteurised dairy producethan unpasteurised.

As detailed earlier, pasteurisationcauses the loss of:

• Enzymes• Water-soluble vitamins• Mineral-carrying whey proteins that

help absorb the minerals• Other whey proteins, such as lactofer-

rin, that help to promote healthy gutbacteria in neonates

• Solubility of calcium, thus decreasingits absorption

• Potentially beneficial bacteria• Bacteriostatic mechanisms that help to

protect against infectious organisms.

Is the loss of all these benefits of a food

globules are naturally much smaller thanbovine milk and are often referred to as‘naturally homogenised’. As a result it isimpossible to ‘cream off ’ sheep andgoats’ milk to make butter and cream inthe same way as with cows’ milk. Yetboth sheep and goats’ milk are welldigested by the human system.

The book also disclaims the idea thatthe XO found in atherosclerotic areas ofthe cardio-vascular system is due tobovine XO. In one study, animals fedwith corn oil (maize oil) showed increas-ed XO activity. From this it would seemas though the increased consumption ofvegetable and grain oils since the 1930smay also be linked with XO-induceddamage.38

DiscussionIt is likely that the quality of raw milkhas changed since the 1920s – wide-spread use of agrochemicals has left uswith a legacy of fat-soluble toxins in ourenvironment, such as lindane and DDT,that may have contributed adverse healtheffects. Even in organic herds with goodmicrobiological profiles, the legacy ofgeneral pesticide use over the past fewdecades may still be evident.

Because of this it seems possible thatraw milk today may still not be of thesame quality as that produced in the1920s and ’30s. Although it might bemicrobiologically cleaner, and appar-ently the UK has some of the besthygiene standards in the world, it is stilllikely to be contaminated with somepotential toxin, although at a leveldeemed too low to cause concern.

However, the same can be said of pas-teurised milk because the pasteurisationprocess removes very few of these envi-ronmental toxins. It is valid to discusswhether or not the native bacteriostaticmechanisms in milk would have a suffi-cient effect on the MAP bacteria – is itpossible that no pasteurisation might beof more benefit than more pasteurisation?

As for homogenisation, unlike pas-teurisation it provides no health bene-fits, only commercial ones. More inde-pendent, unbiased research needs to bedone on the potential risks of xanthineoxidase and other factors associated withreduced milk droplet size before any rea-sonable conclusion can be reached. Inthe UK milk sold in supermarkets isalmost certainly homogenised, whereasmilk sold in bottles by the milkman islikely to be unhomogenised.

ConclusionIt has become increasingly difficult toobtain pure, unadulterated milk over thelast 25 years since the retail sale of raw

issue 80 CADUCEUS • 9

Above: Elegant complexity is revealed in thisdiagram of lactoferrin, an enzyme in raw milk thatprotects against pathogens and ensures completeassimilation of iron in the milk. Pasteurization’s rapidheating warps and distorts this fragile, three-dimensional structure, rendering it ineffective andpossibly toxic. Below: Raw milk delivery truck inItaly; similar vending machines are installed in schoolsand offices across continental Europe.

substance worth the diminution of a riskthat is perhaps overstated?

Remember also the dying words ofLouis Pasteur himself: ‘The germ isnothing, the terrain is everything’. Ifregular consumption of raw milk has abeneficial effect on the immune system,promoting stronger immunity to diseasein general, then the risks from the con-sumption of raw milk are outweighed bythe benefits. Bacteria that are sometimespresent in raw milk have no opportunityto flourish in a vigorous, healthy envi-ronment with a strong immune system.

Regarding homogenisation, morework needs to be done to clarifywhether or not there are potentialadverse health aspects.

In personal preference, I drink unho-mogenised milk. As to the raw vs. pas-teurised milk issue, I am undecided. Nothaving been brought up on it, my sys-tem is unaccustomed to it; but if themilk could be certified pathogen-freeand was easily available, then I wouldmore than likely convert to raw milk.

References1. Copley MS et al. Direct chemical evidence forwidespread dairying in prehistoric Britain. PNASFebruary 18, 2003;100(4):1524–9.2. tinyurl.com/2u5w7nq – Enzymes in the dairyindustry: milk, cheese and spreads.3. Kate Russell, lecturer at Royal AgriculturalCollege, Cirencester (Personal correspondence,April, 2004)4. Porter R. The Greatest Benefit to Mankind – Amedical History of Humanity from Antiquity to thePresent, HarperCollins, London, 1997, p433.5. Mycobacterium paratuberculosis and Milk –Information Statement, Food Science andTechnology Today 1998;12(4):223–8.6. Food Standards Agency, 03/25/02 Agenda Item,January 2003: On Form Pasteurisation.7. tinyurl.com/39e8vfd8. Farm Animal Welfare Council Control ofMastitis Point 198 tinyurl.com/32w8oox 9. ‘Background Information on bovine tuberculo-sis’ tinyurl.com/3x92d7r 10. Taylor JH, The causation of Crohn’s Diseaseand treatment with antimicrobial drugs, JGastroenterol Hepatol 1998;6:607–10.11. Bacteria survives milk processing, 2nd April,2000. tinyurl.com/34ovesl 12. Schmid R. The Untold Story of Milk, NewTrends Publishing, Washington, DC,2003:262–71 (also 2009 revised edn, see Review;recommended reading).13. Progress Report by DEFRA on the Recom-mendations in the First Report of the AgriculturalCommittee Session 2000–1 (HC92), ‘Badgers andBovine TB: Follow-up’, para. 16.14. Action Medical Research on Crohn’s Diseaseat tinyurl.com/39pobqr 15. Pearson AD, Healing TD. The surveillanceand control of campylobacter infection,Communicable Disease Review, 1992;2(12).16. Pickard, BM. The Case for Untreated Milk; ASpecial Report from The Association of Un-pasteurised Milk Producers & Consumers, Deptof Animal Physiology and Nutrition, University ofLeeds. Originally published by The SoilAssociation, 1989.17. Food Standards Agency, Wales. Consultation on

immunodeficiency virus. J Trop Pediat2000;46(4):219–23.33. Crewe JR., The Milk Cure, Certified MilkMagazine, January, 1929.34. Regulation of Raw Drinking Milk and Cream –Background, Annex A tinyurl.com/33lachr 35. tinyurl.com/3ygjfep 36. tinyurl.com/33cuhfd 37. Homogenisation Basics tinyurl.com/2vby4ue12/3/04.38. Anderson R, Milk Hazard or Cure?tinyurl.com/2u9t4mt 12/3/04.39. Schmid R, op cit, pp 237–50.40. Harrison R, Milk xanthine oxidase: hazard orbenefit? J Nutr & Environ Med 2002;12(3).

This article is based on the original that appearedin The Nutrition Practitioner (2004; 5(2);www.nutprac.com), published by the Centre forNutrition Education, Wokingham, Berkshire. Tel: 0118 979 8686; www.cnelm.co.uk.

Ann Woodriff Beirne, BSc (Hons)Food Science, MSc Applied Immun-ology, worked for 10 years in BloodTransfusion and Haematology, firstat Oxford BTS and then in a hospi-tal, before re-training as a comple-mentary therapist. After practisingfor seven years, during which she alsoled modules and lectured for the BSc(Hons) Nutritional Therapy courseat CNELM, she moved to Australia.She is a co-editor of BiochemicalImbalances in Disease (2010).

the sale of unpasteurised drinking milk and cream –Answers to common responses received, 2002.18. Feng CG, Collins, AM. Pasteurisation andhomogenisation of milk enhances the immuno-genicity of milk plasma proteins in a rat model,Food and Agricul Immunol 1999;11(3):251–8.19. Krauss WE et al. Studies on the nutritive valueof milk II. ‘The effect of pasteurisation on some ofthe nutritive properties of milk’, Ohio AgriculturalExperiment Station Bulletin 1933;518:11.20. The Lancet, 1937;8 May:1142.21. Dold H et al. Antiseptic in milk, The Drugand Cosmetic Industry, 1938;(43):1:109.22. Hess AE. Infantile Scurvy. III. Its influence ongrowth (length and weight), Am J Dis Child,August, 1916.23. Hess AE. Infantile Scurvy. V. A study of itspathogenesis, Am J Dis Child, November, 1917.24. Jordon EO, A Textbook of General Bacteriology,12th edn, revised, WB Saunders Co, 1938:691.25. Overstreet RM, Northwest Medicine, June,1938, abstract by Clin Med and Surg, The Increaseof Scurvy, 1938;42(12):598.26. Woessner WW et al, The determination ofascorbic acid in commercial milks, J Nutr1939;18(6):619–26.27. Rose J. In Praise of Raw Milk. Slow, the inter-national herald of taste, 2001;21:tinyurl.com/2vxhaej 28. Lewis LR, The relation of the vitamins toobstetrics, Am J Obst & Gynae 1935;29(5):759.29. Unpasteurised cow’s milk & derived products,Jonathon Banks Winter Edition 2001; 47,ISSN:1445-7075 tinyurl.com/33tuskc 30. Kraus WE et al. op. cit, p8.31. Bjorksten et al. Collecting and bankinghuman milk: to heat or not to heat? BMJ1980;281:765–9.32. Jeffery BS, Mercer KG. Pretoria pasteurisation:a potential method for the reduction of postnatalmother to child transmission of the human

10 • issue 80 CADUCEUS

Armed raid on raw milk outlet in CaliforniaA raid by armed police on Rawsome Foods in Venice, California, on 30 Julydemonstrates the difference between the aggressive attitude of many offi-cials in North America against raw milk and its supporters and the morebenign approach found in most European countries.

Agents, including FBI and FDA, took thousands of dollars’ worth of rawdairy products and shut the group down for not having a public health permit(even though they are a private food club). Legal action is now in progress,as are others against similar raids in other parts of the US.

In Canada sale of raw milk is banned but farmer Michael Schmidt ofGlencolton Farms, near Toronto, is fighting a legal action over his cow-shareprogram after several raids on his farm.

The main north American organisation supporting the raw milk movementis The Weston A. Price Foundation (WAPF), PMB 106-380, 4200 WisconsinAvenue, NW, Washington, DC 20016, USA; (www.westonaprice.org; (202)363 4394), a charity founded in 1999 to disseminate the research of nutritionpioneer Dr Weston Price. It runs A Campaign for Real Milk(www.realmilk.com), which posts articles on the health benefits and sourcesof raw milk in many countries, including the UK. It recently helped launch aFarm-to-Consumer Legal Defence Fund to help farmers and sellers defendthemselves.

A documentary, Farmageddon…The Unseen War on American FamilyFarms, produced by Kristin Canty, is due for release in January; more details:www.farmageddonmovie.com . It includes harrowing tales of seven dairyfarmers and co-op owners who were raided and shut down for selling rawdairy products to the public. • In Britain, WAPR's London chapter (www.westonaprice.org/london) runs

meetings and is preparing a conference in March at which a similar Britishfilm will be launched (see Diary). Currently there are some 30 British out-lets selling raw milk, two of which distribute nationally.