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We at StateFoodSafety.com are big fans of the local foods movement. Using fresh, local ingredients makes food healthier and tastier, while helping the environment by reducing the carbon footprint of our food transportation system. We should all go out of our way to find and support local farmers and food producers that make food in a safe, hygienic, and environmentally sound manner.

That said, along with the local foods movement, we’ve seen a resurging interest in drinking raw, untreated milk from local dairies. Recent federal crackdowns on interstate sales and transport of unpasteurized milk products have raised quite a stink among raw milk drinkers, who suggest that Uncle Sam might have bigger fish to fry than shutting down local dairies selling raw milk and cheese to people who are asking specifically for it. That’s a political issue, and we’re not political experts at all. What we do know is that raw milk is a potentially dangerous product. Those who drink it risk making themselves seriously ill; those who give it to their children are risking much more.

The milking process, even on a small-scale level, is messy. Even the most careful milker can’t avoid all fecal contamination. Simply put, poop gets into milk, and that poop carries with it dangerous bacteria, including pathogenic strains of E. coli. Heating the milk to high temperatures kills those bacteria, rendering milk safe to drink. Skipping that step welcomes pathogens into the food supply.

Let’s look at a few arguments that raw-milk supporters typically make:

• When grass-fed cows are milked hygienically, less fecal contamination occurs and less pathogens are found in milk.

This is probably true, but allow us to point out that this is comparing raw milk to other pre-pasteurization milk products. Average pathogen levels in raw milk, no matter how responsibly produced it is, will be higher than in pasteurized milk products, and even moderate pathogen levels are enough to cause disease, especially in more vulnerable populations like children and the elderly.

• Raw milk is a “miracle” food. Its health benefits far outweigh the risks associated with drinking it.

Raw milk supporters cite miraculous benefits ranging from curing food allergies to preventing autism, but we’ve yet to see a persuasive, reputable study supporting any of these claims. The studies we’ve seen all suggest that pasteurization has only negligible effects on the nutritional content of milk.  Click here to read a reasonable, fact-centered discussion of raw milk myths and misconceptions.

• Raw milk tastes better, and I should have the right to drink it if I want to.

While we wouldn’t encourage it, we have a hard time suggesting that adults who are informed of the risks involved shouldn’t be able to choose to drink raw milk. If you want your milk with extra poop in it, that’s your business. An adult choosing to drink raw milk is one thing; giving a child raw milk is another story. Because of their weaker immune systems, children bear a much higher risk of infection, and infections typically have much more serious ramifications for children. Pregnant women, the elderly, and anyone else with a compromised immune system are at similarly high risk.

Pasteurization is one of the most important food safety breakthroughs in history. Today, less than 1% of all food-borne illness outbreaks are associated with milk, compared to 25% in 1938. Those who wish to protect their families from listeria, E. coli, and other dangerous bacteria should only buy milk, cheese, and other dairy products that are labeled as having undergone pasteurization. Check out this FDA fact sheet for more information.

The FDA is currently investigating a multi-state outbreak of salmonella enteritidis linked to chicken eggs from as many as 13 separate brands.  An estimated 266 people in California alone have been infected by consuming the  contaminated eggs.  So far, no deaths have been reported.

A recall, which includes all 13 egg brands, involves eggs all originating from an Iowa company.  While the Wright County Egg of Galt, Iowa won’t confirm how many, experts have estimated up to 228 million eggs will be recalled from across the nation.  For additional information, read the FDA’s press release.

UPDATE (9/1/2010):  Since this recall was issued two weeks ago, the FDA egg recall has grown to include dozens of egg brands, all with similar plant numbers–typically beginning with a “P.”  The Egg Safety Center has put together a comprehensive list of all the egg products included in the recall.  If eggs you have purchased are included in the recall, don’t eat them.

Salmonella typhi is famous.  It’s killed millions since it first received attention in 430 BC when it swept through Athens and killed one third of the population–including their leader, Pericles.  More commonly known as “Typhoid Fever,” salmonella typhi is identified as a “serious public health problem” by the World Health Organization (WHO).  Anywhere from 16-33 million cases worldwide are reported annually.  People still die from this disease today–about 216,000 per year–most frequently in locations where food is not cleansed and handled properly.

Salmonella typhi presents with a number of symptoms including fever, heavy sweating, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, headache, cough, bloody noses, and rose-colored spots.  Lasting for as many as four weeks, typhoid fever can also seriously affect the lungs, spleen, liver, and brain.  As with most salmonella strains, infection generally comes from cross-contamination of contaminated foods to clean, ready-to-eat foods.  Poor sanitation and personal hygiene are also major factors.  In locations where salmonella typhi is prevalent, animals and insects are in regular contact with both feces and ready-to-eat foods, spreading bacteria from one to the other.  In the United States, salmonella typhi infections have been reduced due to education about the importance of hand washing after using the bathroom and covering the mouth and nose when coughing.  In addition to these personal hygiene measures, we are also fortunate to enjoy modern plumbing and chlorinated water that separate us from the bacteria our bodies produce.

Unlike most foodborne illnesses, certain persons infected with typhoid fever may not even know they’re sick.  In one famous case, a woman named Mary Mallon infected 53 people during her career as a cook–three of whom died.  Although she denied being infected with salmonella typhi until her death, the disease followed her from home to home, leaving a trail of suffering in her wake.  Typhoid Mary unwittingly infected the families for whom she worked by coughing, sneezing, not washing her hands, and then handling ready-to-eat foods and preparing beverages.  The legacy she left behind when she passed away from unrelated causes, was the critical importance of hand washing, vaccination, and cooking food thoroughly. Click here and here for some period posters about the ability to prevent this disease.

Finally, here is a list of famous victims of salmonella typhi:

• Abigail Adams–second First Lady of the United States
• Louisa May Alcott–author of Little Women
• Charles Darwin–naturalist, author of On the Origin of Species
• Mary Todd Lincoln–wife of Abraham Lincoln
• Wilbur Wright–one of the Wright Brothers
• Anne Frank–famous diary writer (Diary of Anne Frank)
• Pericles–famous orator and statesman in ancient Athens

Facts Source:  Wikipedia

This morning we received possibly the most bizarre FDA update we’ve ever seen:  “FDA warns of Salmonella risk from frozen rodents fed to reptiles.”

Biggers and Callaham LLC (dba MiceDirect), a reptile-feed delivery company, has voluntarily recalled several frozen food products (rodents and birds) that have been linked to outbreaks of Salmonella in 17 states across the country.  For a full list of recalled products, click here.   Biggers and Callaham LLC recommends placing any recall items  in a sealed bag in the garbage, and not attempting to cook the products or feed them to pets.

We covered a similar topic in our Kissing Frogs post back in March when we reported on the numbers of young girls who gave themselves Salmonella by kissing frogs after the release of the Disney film The Princess and the Frog. The bottom line is this:  animals, while cute and sometimes fun, are covered in germs.  Their immune systems do not require the same level of cleanliness as ours do and so foods and environments that are safe for animals can make humans very sick.  In fact, with this most recent recall announcement, the FDA has warned against allowing children under five (5) to handle snakes and other reptiles.  Animals such as reptiles and birds are common sources of Salmonella infection in young people because children often touch their eyes, noses, and mouths without washing their hands.  Older children and elderly persons should have limited contact with reptiles, birds, and frozen animal products such as those involved in the recall.

Read the entire FDA press release here.

We are so excited about our BRAND NEW Food Safety Course that will be debuting soon!  We hope this course will make the food safety learning experience more educational, more interactive, and more FUN!  We’ll keep you posted with further updates about our new course.  Check back soon!