USA TODAY – The H5N1 bird flu virus was first identified in America’s milk supply earlier this year ‒ but the virus researchers found was dead, killed by the rapid heating of pasteurization.
That’s when officials began warning people to avoid raw milk, which is touted by some as “healthier.”
On Friday, officials decided to step up testing of milk on farms, both to keep the public from swallowing the virus and to more quickly identify its spread among farms.
There is no doubt that some unpasteurized milk contains H5N1 virus.
What is raw milk?
Raw milk doesn’t go through pasteurization, a process developed more than a century ago to kill viruses, bacteria and other pathogens.
Raw milk is legal for retail sale within California, which has had over 500 herds infected with bird flu. Several states ban the sale of raw milk entirely.
Since 1987, there’s been a federal ban of its sales across state lines.
Is raw milk good for you?
Raw milk supporters say it contains more enzymes, probiotics (or the “good bacteria”), proteins and vitamins than pasteurized milk.
They also say it helps prevent chronic health issues such as asthma and allergies, as well as ear and respiratory infections and fever, citing studies of European children living on farms.
There’s little scientific evidence to support these claims, said John Lucey, director of the University of Wisconsin’s Center for Dairy Research and a food science professor …
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