Clinical Practice: Milk of Nonhuman Origin and Infectious Diseases in Humans

Milk and milk products from domestic animals, which are potential infectious hazards, are made more so by modern milk production, because milk from thousands of animals is often pooled prior to bottling or before manufacturing derivative products. Thus, contaminated milk from 1 animal can result in a widespread problem. Pasteurization largely eliminates this hazard. Most disease transmission caused by contamination of the milk supply has been eliminated by hygienic production measures and pasteurization. However, contamination may occur after pasteurization, and no process works perfectly all of the time. Despite scientific opinion that pasteurized products are safer than raw ones--and are equally nutritious--segments of the population regard raw milk products as more nutritious and better tasting than pasteurized milk products. Thus, low levels of raw milk consumption persist in the United States and other developed nations. Occasional milk-associated disease outbreaks caused by raw milk consumption or by breakdowns in the proper production of pasteurized products still occur.