Allergies and Raw Milk

Modern Lifestyles and Allergies

Although allergies were rare prior to the 1800’s [1], they are a common affliction in our modern lifestyles.  As people have moved further from their agricultural roots, allergies have become more prevalent.  Several studies have found that exposure to diverse bacteria and potential allergens in the environment makes a big difference in preventing the development of allergies.

For instance, in a study looking at allergies and asthma in northern Europe, allergy prevalence was much higher in Finnish people as compared to Russians, even though they lived in geoclimatically similar areas [2]. 27% of Finnish school children demonstrated allergic sensitization to pollen, as compared to only 2% of their Russian counterparts. In unraveling the causes for this disparity, the study found a striking result: “the epidemic of allergy and asthma results from reduced exposure to natural environments with rich microbiota, changed diet and sedentary lifestyle.” Basically, exposure to environments with high bacterial and microbial diversity is associated with lower rates of asthma and allergies.   

North Karelia in Finland and Pitkäranta region in the Republic of Karelia in Russia. The dashed lines are Finnish borders before 1944. Haahtela, et al, 2015.

Several other studies have found similar results, and have concluded that living in a farm environment provides protection from asthma and allergies. Contact with farm animals was found to be associated with lower rates of allergies [3], as was “exposure to stables and farm milk” [4]. Although several studies identified that consumption of raw milk (aka “farm milk”) was an integral part of the farm environment, it was argued that allergy protection was from the farm environment and not from raw milk consumption.  However, further research has revealed that raw milk is indeed a key factor in protecting against allergies and asthma.

Children Who Drink Raw Milk Have Less Allergies

Several large epidemiological studies of European children have found correlations between raw milk consumption and decreased rates of allergies.

PARSIFAL Study

The PARSIFAL study was designed to look at allergy risk factors in children. This large study of over 14,800 European children (from Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland) investigated allergic diseases in relation to children’s exposure to different environments (farms, rural, suburban) and farm-fresh foods (such as raw dairy products, eggs, and vegetables). The PARSIFAL data relating to allergies and raw milk were published in December 2006 in the Journal of Clinical and Experimental Allergy [5].

The PARSIFAL study concluded that there is a “significant inverse association between farm [raw] milk consumption and childhood asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis, sensitization to pollen, a mix of food allergens, and horse dander." The study found that, regardless of which environment the children lived in, those children who drank raw milk had significantly lower rates of allergies and asthma than children who did not drink raw milk. These effects were “most pronounced in children drinking farm milk since their first year of life.”

GABRIELA Study

The GABRIELA study was designed to investigate the genetic and environmental causes of asthma and allergies.  This study included over 8,000 European children (from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland), and was published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology in August 2011 [6]. In this study, raw milk consumption was compared to consumption of boiled/pasteurized milk, and the level of exposure to raw milk in utero through school age was also accounted for. The study also looked into the children’s exposure to farm environments as a possible variable related to rates of asthma and allergies.

The GABRIELA study found that raw milk consumption is associated with significantly lower rates of allergies and asthma, and that this beneficial effect is independent of other farm exposures. It was found that early exposure to raw milk (at <1 year of age) and daily consumption of raw milk increased the beneficial effect in children who drank a mixture of raw milk and pasteurized milk. The consumption of only pasteurized milk “was not associated with any health outcome.”

It’s Not the “Farm Effect,” It’s the Raw Milk!

The above-referenced studies specifically analyzed the effects of living environments, and found that the beneficial effects of raw milk on allergies and asthma were indeed present even in children who did not live on farms. Furthermore, a recent meta-analysis of eight health studies related to raw milk was published in the November 2019 issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology [7]. A meta-analysis is a quantitative statistical analysis which combines the results of multiple scientific studies, thereby allowing the researchers to derive overall conclusions about that body of research.

The recent meta-analysis, written by a team of researchers from the Netherlands and Germany, concluded that when taken as a whole, the body of data from the previous studies shows that raw milk consumption in childhood has a protective effect on allergies and asthma “independent of other farm exposures and that children not living on a farm can theoretically profit from this effect.” 

Why Does Raw Milk Protect Against Allergies and Asthma?

Although it was originally postulated that raw milk’s bacterial content was responsible for its allergy-protective effects, research has not found this to be the case.  For instance, the GABRIELA study found that, “Contrary to our expectations, we did not observe an association between total viable bacterial counts in milk and investigated health outcomes” [6].

More recent research has investigated whether the whey proteins in raw milk could be responsible for the beneficial effect on allergies. A study published in the June 2020 Food and Function Journal “aimed at achieving a better understanding of the underlying mechanism between heat damage to whey proteins and allergy development” [8]. In this study, “raw cow’s milk was heated for 30 min at 50, 60, 65, 70, 75, or 80 °C [122, 140, 149, 158, 167, or 176 °F]… The allergy-protective effect of differently heated milk samples were tested in a murine OVA-induced food allergy model.” 

Heat treatment at 65 °C or higher destroyed allergy-protective capacity of raw milk in murine OVA-induced food allergy model. Abbring, Xiong, et al, 2020.

This study found that allergy protection ceases when raw milk is heated to 149 °F, which is the same temperature at which the whey proteins are denatured.  It was concluded that the whey protein in raw milk provides protection from allergies, asthma, and inflammation.  When heated above 149 °F, these properties are dramatically reduced or eliminated. This finding is an important confirmation of the unique beneficial properties of whole, unprocessed raw milk. 

Low-Risk Raw Milk as a Therapeutic Tool Against Allergies

The research is clear that raw milk consumption is correlated with protection from allergies and asthma. Although a living environment that is rich in bacterial diversity is helpful, it has been demonstrated that the allergy-protective benefits of raw milk are present in both rural and urban environments.  The immunologically active whey proteins are likely the cause of this protective effect.  There is a growing body of evidence that raw milk is a low-risk food when it is produced carefully and intentionally [9, 10]. Thus, low-risk raw milk can be a powerful therapeutic tool for allergy and asthma protection.

References

[1] Hay Fever and Paroxysmal Sneezing: Their Etiology and Treatment. 1887. Mackenzie M. https://archive.org/details/b20406757/page/n7/mode/2up

[2] Hunt for the origin of allergy – comparing the Finnish and Russian Karelia. Clinical and Experimental Allergy. 2015; (45) 891– 901. Haahtela T, Laatikainen T, Alenius H, Auvinen P, Fyhrquist N, Hanski I, von Hertzen L, Jousilahti P, Kosunen T U, Markelova O, Mäkelä M J, Pantelejev V, Uhanov M, Zilber E, Vartiainen E. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/cea.12527

[3] Farming exposure in childhood, exposure to markers of infections and the development of atopy in rural subjects. Clinical and Experimental Allergy : Journal of the British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology vol. 34,8 (2004): 1178-83. Radon K, Windstetter D, Eckart J, Dressel H, Leitritz L, Reichert J, Schmid M, Praml G, Schosser M, von Mutius E, Nowak D. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15298556/

[4] Exposure to farming in early life and development of asthma and allergy: a cross-sectional survey. Lancet. 2001;358(9288):1129-1133. Riedler J, Braun-Fahrländer C, Eder W, Schreuer M, Waser M, Maisch S, Carr D, Schierl R, Nowak D, von Mutius E; ALEX Study Team. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11597666/

[5] Inverse association of farm milk consumption with asthma and allergy in rural and suburban populations across Europe. Clinical and Experimental Allergy. 2007; 37(5):661-70. Waser M, Michels KB, Bieli C, Flöistrup H, Pershagen G, von Mutius E, Ege M, Riedler J, Schram-Bijkerk D, Brunekreef B, van Hage M, Lauener R, Braun-Fahrländer C; PARSIFAL study team. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17456213

[6] The protective effect of farm milk consumption on childhood asthma and atopy: The GABRIELA study. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. 2011; 128 (4): 766-73. Loss G, Apprich S, Waser M, Kneifel W, Genuneit J, Büchele G, Weber J, Sozanska B, Danielewicz H, Horak E, Joost van Neerven RJ, Heederik D, Lorenzen PC, von Mutius E, Braun-Fahrländer C; GABRIELA study group. https://www.jacionline.org/article/S0091-6749(11)01234-6/fulltext

[7] The Beneficial Effect of Farm Milk Consumption on Asthma, Allergies, and Infections: From Meta-Analysis of Evidence to Clinical Trial. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practcice, 2019. 8 (3): 878-889. Brick T, Hettinga K, Kirchner B, Pfaffl MW, Ege MJ. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31770653

[8] Loss of allergy-protective capacity of raw cow's milk after heat treatment coincides with loss of immunologically active whey proteins. Food and Function. 2020 Jun 24;11(6):4982-4993. Abbring S, Xiong L, Diks MAP, Baars T, Garssen J, Hettinga K, van Esch BCAM. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32515464/

[9] Recent Trends in Unpasteurized Fluid Milk Outbreaks, Legalization, and Consumption in the United States. PLOS Currents. 2018; 10. Whitehead J, Lake B. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6140832/#ref27

[10] Raw milk producers with high levels of hygiene and safety. Epidemiology and Infection, 2020; 148, e14, 1-7. Berge AC, Baars T. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32000877 

FDA Demonstrates Bias Against Raw Milk in Unfounded Raw Cheese Recall

Government agencies in many countries have been biased against raw milk and raw dairy products for over a century.  This is true in the United States as well, even though Dr Henry Coit and the American Association of Medical Milk Commissions demonstrated that raw milk could be produced carefully and hygienically as a low-risk food all the way back in the late 1800’s.

Anti-raw milk smear campaigns and propaganda have been used continually to make people fearful of raw milk and raw milk products. In reality, raw milk can be produced as a low-risk food when farmers are trained and use careful production practices.

Of course, there is no such thing as a perfectly safe food, as evidenced by the ongoing illness outbreaks linked to foods such as cantaloupes, leafy greens, and chicken. Pasteurized milk is not perfectly safe, either, and is implicated in foodborne illnesses and outbreaks every year. For instance, in 2007, there was an outbreak of Listeriosis in Massachusetts which was associated with pasteurized milk.  Overall, there were five cases identified and three deaths occurred.

Nonetheless, only raw milk and raw milk products are targeted by government agencies as being unsafe.

My Family’s Farm is Being Targeted

In the latest example of anti raw milk bias, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently targeted raw cheese from my family’s farm (RAW Farm). On February 15th 2024, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the FDA urgently demanded to speak with us. We had 30 minutes notice for a call that was attended by about a dozen people from the CDC and FDA.

Our raw cheeses are sold nationally at over 1,300 grocery stores.  We were told that the CDC’s PULSENET database had associated 10 illnesses to our raw cheese products over the last 5 months. The CDC and FDA admitted that, out of these 10 illnesses, half of those who became ill denied ever having consumed our cheese.

Nonetheless, the FDA gave us two alternatives: either 1) voluntarily recall all of our cheese sold in the USA, or 2) they would force a mandatory recall of all our cheeses.

Our own internal tests performed on every batch of raw cheese were all negative for pathogens.  The state of California’s tests on our cheeses were also all negative for pathogens.  Nonetheless, we chose to fully comply with a voluntary recall of all raw cheeses within a specified date range. Although we needed a lot more information and answers to questions, out of an abundance of caution we recalled all of our cheeses on February 16th 2024. 

Searching for Answers to Many Questions

Over a 10-day period during our voluntary recall, we dug into the data to see what we could learn.  We were patient and did not comment, but instead we just collected information and considered every piece of data in our investigation.

We asked the FDA to provide the Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) test data gathered by PULSENET. We conferred with experts from a testing lab who concluded that the WGS data was inconsistent from person to person and did not match as having a single cause. The CDC appears to have picked and selected data to match a narrative and ignored other data and date ranges. 

By February 25th, we had considered all the data from the FDA as well as mountains of internal test data and state test data. There was never any evidence that our cheese contained pathogens.

Clear Bias from the FDA and CDC

In handling this situation, the FDA broke their own rules in numerous ways.  They did not comply with their own Food Safety Modernization Act requirements or procedures. 

The timing of this whole situation was conspicuous considering that it was in the middle of a nationwide recall of pasteurized cheeses due to Listeria.  That outbreak is affecting 11-states and is associated with dozens of illnesses and two deaths. 

Additionally, on February 17th despite lack of evidence, FDA Director Dr Stic Harris posted on his personal LinkedIn page a photo of our cheese along with a warning that “While my personal opinion is you should never drink raw milk or eat raw milk products, you certainly don’t want to eat raw milk cheese linked to an ongoing outbreak.” Raw milk was never even involved in this recall, only raw cheese.  The bias against raw milk and raw milk products is clear.

The Accusations Were Baseless

It is clear from investigating all of the data that the FDA’s accusations against RAW Farm’s cheese were baseless. We stand with our consumers and our test data. The FDA can provide no evidence what so ever of any pathogens in any of our products.

As of February 26, we have now lifted our Voluntary Recall on our cheeses. You can read our full press release here:

Suffice it to say that as pioneers in the raw milk movement, we wage many battles.  Some are scientific, some are political, and some are educational. In this case, the FDA refuses to acknowledge science and is protecting themselves and big industry. They are demonstrating extreme political bias and continue to refuse to become educated about how raw milk can be produced as a low-risk food.

Raw Milk and Lactose Intolerance

People choose to drink raw milk for many different reasons. Some are seeking to support local farms and connect with the places from which their food originates.  Others want to make sure that animal welfare is a high priority in the production of their food. Some people choose raw milk for its delicious, rich flavor.  And still others seek out raw milk in order to address specific health conditions, such as asthma, allergies, and eczema.

Lactose intolerance and maldigestion of pasteurized milk are significant factors for many people who choose raw milk. Nonetheless, when researching the peer-reviewed literature, many would conclude that raw milk cannot help with lactose intolerance. Raw milk detractors often cite a study by Stanford University in their assertion that raw milk does not help with lactose intolerance. However, many people who have been diagnosed as “lactose intolerant” have reported that they can actually drink raw milk with no digestive problems. Let’s dig deep into all of this to better understand the disconnect.

The Stanford Study

The Stanford study, titled “Effect of Raw Milk on Lactose Intolerance: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study,” assessed the effects of raw milk, pasteurized milk, and soy milk in 16 adults. The people participating in this study were confirmed to have “true lactose malabsorption” through the use of a Hydrogen Breath Test (HBT). Over a course of several weeks, the participants in the study consumed successively greater amounts of raw milk, pasteurized milk, and soy milk in an 8-day milk phase for each type of milk as shown in the figure below.  This study found that there was no improvement in lactose intolerance symptoms with the consumption of raw milk compared to pasteurized milk.

Milk dosage protocol and outcome measures for each 8-day milk phase: full amount of milk was consumed in 1 sitting on each day. Mummah, et al 2014.

Although the Stanford study has often been cited as proving that raw milk does not help with lactose intolerance, there are some significant problems with this study. The sample size of 16 participants is quite small, and this makes is very difficult to make any sweeping conclusions based on the results of the study.  The sample size becomes even more problematic when it is considered that 383 people initially signed up to participate in the study.

The 383 people who volunteered for this study considered themselves to be lactose intolerant. This means that they had experienced digestive symptoms such as diarrhea, abdominal cramping, audible bowel sounds, and/or flatulence as a result of consuming milk products. However, only 27 people were qualified to participate through the use of the Hydrogen Breath Test. Of these 27 people, 16 people chose to participate in the study. Out of the initial group of 383 volunteer participants, only 4% actually participated in the study. This means that 96% of the original volunteers were excluded from this study!

This calls into question the use of the Hydrogen Breath Test as an appropriate measure of lactose intolerance.  Although the HBT is used to characterize the clinical definition of lactose malabsorption, it is clearly not a sufficient test for identifying people who experience digestive symptoms as a result of consuming milk products. The study even mentioned that, “Many people with lactose malabsorption [as diagnosed through results of the HBT] do not report clinical lactose intolerance. Conversely, many individuals with perceived lactose intolerance do not experience malabsorption [as confirmed with HBT].” The Hydrogen Breath Test is clearly not a sufficient test for identifying people who experience digestive symptoms from the consumption of milk products.

Another significant problem with the Stanford study is that the length of the 8-day milk phases may have been too short.  Specifically, the study authors found that “the reduced H2 production observed for raw milk on day 8 vs day 1 suggests a degree of adaptation to raw milk… In contrast to raw milk, no adaptation was observed for pasteurized milk.” The participants had decreased levels of hydrogen in the HBT by the end of the 8-day raw milk phase, and this finding warrants further study to determine whether this trend would have continued over a longer period of time and resulted in a reduction of lactose intolerance symptoms.

Mummah, et al 2014

Overall, the Stanford study fell far short of actually answering the question of whether raw milk can be well-tolerated by people who describe themselves as “lactose-intolerant.” 96% of the volunteers who considered themselves to be lactose intolerant were excluded from this study. Furthermore, the study did not continue long enough to determine if the positive trend in hydrogen production from drinking raw milk would have continued and resulted in reduction of lactose intolerance symptoms.

First-Hand Accounts About Raw Milk and Lactose Intolerance

There have been numerous first-hand reports of improvements in lactose intolerance from the consumption of raw milk. For instance, lactose intolerance runs in my husband's family, coming through his father.  My husband and his siblings all developed digestive problems from consuming milk and other dairy products at around 18-20 years old. Prior to trying raw milk, my husband could only tolerate pasteurized milk products if he took lactase enzyme pills whenever he consumed dairy. However, my husband has been able to drink raw milk in moderate amounts (such as 1-2 glasses per day) with no problems, and raw milk consumption also corresponded with an increased ability to tolerate pasteurized dairy in cheese and ice cream.  My father-in-law was also able to consume raw milk without digestive problems and reported that it also increased his ability to consume pasteurized cheese and ice cream.  

Here are a few more first-hand accounts about raw milk consumption and lactose intolerance.

“I am lactose intolerant. I was diagnosed around the age of 12. I missed so much school due to upset stomach & went off of dairy fully for over 10 years. I can drink raw milk with no issues - I can have cups of it with no bad side effects. In fact - I can even have pasteurized dairy now with little to no problems. It has helped my gut health so much - I notice when I don’t consume it because my digestion gets weird.

“When I first started drinking it I was terrified but after the first cup my body craved it for the first month. It was all I wanted. I could have easily drank half a gallon a day if I didn’t limit myself. That’s tapered off now though.”       ~Bethanie N.

“I had IBS and had to take everything out of my diet and slowly add things back in to see what was bothering me. It was processed dairy. Found raw dairy and now that's all I consume most days. Raw milk, cheese, yogurt, butter. IBS gone, hemorrhoids gone, arthritis gone, inflammation gone, sinus problems gone. Feel like a new woman.” ~Patricia W.

“My kids were all lactose intolerant, but when I switched to raw A2, they all saw a huge difference in response. No more issues. One of my kiddos was at the point of needing her tonsils removed, but they shrunk down to normal size, and her sleep apnea went away.” ~mother of four children

Surveys About Raw Milk and Lactose Intolerance

There have been several raw milk surveys which collected data about lactose intolerance. In a 2007 survey of Michigan raw milk drinkers, 155 people participating in the survey had been diagnosed with lactose intolerance by a healthcare professional. Out of these 155 people, 118 reported that they did not have lactose intolerance symptoms from consuming raw milk.  Thus, 76% of the survey respondents who had been diagnosed with lactose intolerance were able to consume raw milk with no digestive issues.

In a 2011 survey of 56 Michigan raw milk drinkers, “eleven individuals claimed that they experienced symptoms of lactose intolerance when drinking processed milks but had no ill side effects from drinking raw milk.”

In a 2014 survey of 153 Maryland raw milk drinkers, “Fifty-nine respondents claimed no discomfort after drinking raw milk but discomfort from drinking pasteurized milk.

Raw Milk and Lactase

Pasteurization inactivates enzymes and also denatures proteins, and consequently pasteurized milk induces digestive discomfort in many people. Lactase is the enzyme responsible for breaking down lactose into digestible form. Raw milk facilitates the production of lactase enzyme in the intestinal tract, and thus it makes sense that so many people have reported improvements in lactose intolerance from drinking raw milk.

Ancient populations who relied on dairy products adapted over time by developing lactase persistence genes. These genes allow people to digest lactose into adulthood, and they have been found in various indigenous populations in Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Overall, around 35% of adults worldwide have lactase persistence genes.

Although it has been widely argued that only people who have lactase persistence genes can consume milk, there are currently many populations around the globe who subsist largely on dairy yet who do not have lactase persistence genes.  For instance, despite the fact that an estimated 95% of Mongolians do not have the lactase persistence gene, their diet relies very heavily on raw milk, cheese, and other milk products.

Furthermore, archaeological evidence shows that humans were consuming raw milk for thousands of years before the widespread appearance of the lactase-persistence gene. Raw milk allowed humans to thrive in conditions where survival would have been difficult. Scientists now believe that lactase-persistence genes were spread through natural selection. This means that the reproductive capacity and/or survivability of ancient raw milk drinkers was substantially increased compared to non-milk-drinking populations.

Large Body of Evidence for Raw Milk and Lactose Intolerance Benefits

First-hand accounts and surveys show that there are many people whose lactose intolerance symptoms are improved by drinking raw milk. Additionally, many worldwide raw milk-drinking populations do not have lactase persistence genes. Furthermore, the archaeological record shows that humans were consuming raw milk for thousands of years before the appearance of lactase persistence genes. This large body of evidence cannot be negated by one small study. The Stanford study should clearly not be seen as the final word on raw milk and lactose intolerance.

Welcoming Two Goat Milk Farms in Texas and British Columbia to RAWMI Community

The Raw Milk Institute (RAWMI) sends a warm welcome to two more farmers who have completed our Listing program!

RAWMI offers free mentoring to all dairy farmers. Whether they are milking one cow, a handful of goats, or a large herd, the principles of safe raw milk production form a foundational toolset that benefits all dairy farmers and their customers. 

Some of the farmers we mentor choose to keep it casual, and are satisfied to just ask us a few questions before continuing their raw milk journeys. There is another set of farmers, though, that is not content to just dip their toes in the water; they want to dive right in and take their entire milk process to the next level. 

For these farmers, we offer our (free) RAWMI Listing program, wherein we assist farmers in developing their own unique on-farm Risk Analysis and Management Plan, documenting their processes with written Standard Sanitary Operating Procedures, and identifying the Critical Control Points that are essential to their production of safe raw milk. RAWMI Listed farmers test their milk at least monthly for ongoing assurance that their processes are working well to produce low-risk raw milk. RAWMI Listing is the gold standard for raw milk producers.

Two goat milk farms have recently completed the RAWMI Listing process, and we extend them a warm welcome into our growing community!

Lomah Texas: Dallas-Fort Worth Area

Lomah Texas is operated by Jennifer Daniels and her family. It all started over a decade ago with a goat for Jennifer’s daughter.  Their herd quickly grew such that their farmstead was supplying goat cheese, yogurt, and bath-and-body products by 2010.  Finally, in 2021 the Texas state law was changed to allow raw milk sales off the farm. This created a realistic opportunity to sell and deliver raw goat milk and yogurt, and with that, “Lomah Texas” came to be what it is today.  

Jennifer’s farm produces delicious low-risk raw milk for her community with the use of intentional risk management practices and on-farm lab testing.  

You can check out Lomah Texas' Risk Management Plan and test results here: https://www.rawmilkinstitute.org/listed-farmers/#lomah

British Columbia Dairy: Canada

This is a functioning farm on a small patch of land. Several La Mancha goats live on the property along with a handful of chickens and ducks. Raw milk is illegal in Canada, so even though this farmer is achieving low-risk raw milk, she cannot publicly list her farm name or location.

This farm follows permaculture and regenerative agriculture practices, thereby allowing an abundance of blackberry bushes, grapevines, fruit trees, and vegetables. For this farmer, raw milk safety is more than peace of mind; it’s an innate desire to produce the best product for organic goat milk soap and delicious, nutritious milk and milk products.

This dairy is the second hand-milking farm that has been able to achieve RAWMI Listing. Hand-milking poses some extra risks because it is an open system, but this farmer has shown diligence and persistence in optimizing her processes to reduce the risks, as evidenced by her stellar milk testing results.  

You can check out this farm's Risk Management Plan and test results here:

https://www.rawmilkinstitute.org/listed-farmers/#BC3

Raw Milk Reduces Respiratory Infections and Fevers

A study of 983 European infants looked at consumption of raw milk, pasteurized milk, and ultra-high temperature pasteurized milk alongside occurrence of respiratory tract infections, rhinitis (runny nose), otitis (ear infections), and fever. This study was published in January 2015 in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology [1].

Every week from age 8 weeks to 53 weeks, the infants’ health outcomes and dairy consumption were tracked. “The main finding of this analysis was an inverse association between consumption of unprocessed [raw] cow's milk and rhinitis, RTI [respiratory tract infection], and otitis.” There was also an inverse association between raw milk and fevers.

In layman’s terms, an “inverse association” means that as one increases, the other decreases. This study thus found that, as raw milk consumption increased, the incidence of runny nose, respiratory tract infections, fevers, and ear infections decreased. The researchers concluded that, “The protective effects of raw cow's milk on infections were comparable to those of breast-feeding, suggesting similar anti-infective properties of bovine and human milk.”

Additionally, C-reactive proteins were measured in the infants at 12 months old. C-reactive proteins are a measure of inflammation in the body. The study found that “raw farm milk consumption was inversely associated with C-reactive protein levels at 12 months.” The researchers concluded that consumption of raw milk led to a “sustained anti-inflammatory effect” in the body.

It is clear from this research that raw milk consumption is correlated with improved resistance to respiratory tract infections, ear infections, fevers, and overall inflammation.

References

[1] Consumption of unprocessed cow's milk protects infants from common respiratory infections. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. 2015; 135 (1): 56-62. Loss G, Depner M, Ulfman LH, Joost van Neerven RJ, Hose AJ, Genuneit J, Karvonen M, Hyvärinen A, Kaulek V, Roduit C, Weber J, Lauener R, Pfefferle PI, Pekkanen J, Vaarala O, Dalphin JC, Riedler J, Braun-Fahrländer C, von Mutius E, Ege MJ; PASTURE study group. https://www.jacionline.org/article/S0091-6749%2814%2901274-3/fulltext

NEW Raw Milk Research: Suppression of Pathogens in Properly Refrigerated Raw Milk

We are pleased to announce that a new peer-reviewed paper has been published about pathogen growth in raw milk.  The paper is "Suppression of pathogens in properly refrigerated raw milk" by primary authors Peg Coleman and Dr Tom Oscar. 

This paper documents the results of a pilot study aimed at gaining insights into how well pathogens can grow in refrigerated raw milk. This study was commissioned by the Raw Milk Institute, with pathogen growth tests being performed at Food Safety Net Services (FSNS), an independent 3rd party lab.

Inapplicable Data Has Been Used to Vilify Raw Milk

Some of the data cited by Government agencies against raw milk includes pathogen growth studies where it was found that pathogens multiply greatly over time.  However, these studies are not actually applicable to carefully-produced raw milk because they were performed in nutrient-rich broth instead of milk, they used tremendously high amounts of pathogens (such as 10 log 7, which corresponds to ten million pathogenic colony-forming units (CFU) of bacteria per mL), or they did not account for cold temperature storage.

Pathogens Were Purposely Added Into Raw Milk

In this new pilot study, samples of well-produced raw milk were purposely inoculated with the four main pathogens of concern for raw milk: E coli 0157:H7, Salmonella spp., Campylobacter spp., and Listeria monocytogenes. The raw milk was inoculated at two levels (high and moderate counts per mL).

Pathogen Growth Was Measured Over Time

The objective of this new pilot study was to document growth characteristics of these pathogens in carefully produced raw milk over a period of 14 days when stored at the refrigeration temperature recommended by FDA and USDA: 40°F (4.4 °C). The number of pathogenic bacteria present in the raw milk were counted on days 0, 3, 6, 9, 12, and 14.

Study Found No Growth of Three Types of Pathogens

The study authors concluded that:

"The major finding of the pilot study is statistical evidence of no growth at 4.4°C for the major foodborne pathogens causing illness associated with raw milk in the US (Campylobacter, E. coli O157:H7, and Salmonella). For listeriosis, rarely associated with illness from raw milk, the pilot study documented evidence of pathogen growth in 8 of 12 replicates (P = 0.001 to P = 0.028, significant by ANOVA in the second week of refrigerated storage)."

These results indicate that, when stored at the recommended refrigerator temperature, moderate to high counts of E coli 0157:H7, Salmonella spp., and Campylobacter spp. did not multiply over time in raw milk.

Listeria monocytogenes exhibited some growth in the second week of refrigeration. It is important to note that a recent systematic review found that the risks of severe listeriosis were greater for pasteurized milk than for raw milk.

Challenging Incorrect Assumptions of the Past

Although more data is needed, the results of this pilot study serve to provide an initial basis for challenging incorrect assumptions of the past that overestimated the growth of pathogens in clean, cold raw milk produced for direct human consumption by careful, trained producers.

Special thanks to Peg Coleman and Dr Tom Oscar for their work on this statistical analysis and paper.

You can read the full paper here: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0289249

Albuquerque New Mexico: Another Victory for Raw Milk Legalization

For many years, raw milk has been legal throughout the state of New Mexico with one exception: Albuquerque, the largest city in the state.  Nearly 560,000 people live in Albuquerque, and it is home to over a quarter of the population of the entire state.  Families living in smaller cities all across the state such as Las Cruces, Silver City, Santa Fe, Taos, and Los Alamos have been able to buy raw milk in grocery stores. Yet the families of Albuquerque were denied easy access to raw milk and had to drive outside city limits in order to get this most essential of foods. It was time for change.

Enter Lissa Knudsen, a cheesemonger and breastfeeding advocate with a passion for creating healthy foods. Lissa set out on a mission to legalize raw milk in Albuquerque. As a Public Health graduate student focusing on lactation, Lissa recognizes the innumerable immunity boosting benefits of raw milk. She also supports local artisanal cheesemaking as an important part of building local character with nourishing, unique foods.

For over half a year, Lissa worked diligently to build the connections and support needed to bring raw milk legalization to fruition. She advocated for raw milk with the City Council and Mayor Keller, enlisted the help of the Raw Milk Institute, organized public support, and kept pushing to bring raw milk legalization to the forefront. The Mayor’s office went all in, with Diane Dolan (Government Affairs Manager) working to overcome the longstanding opposition to raw milk within the city government.

Because of the diligence of Lissa and Diane, Albuquerque’s new Raw Milk Ordinance was introduced to City Council in the Finance and Government Operations (FGO) Committee in October 2023. The Ordinance removes Albuquerque’s raw milk prohibition, allowing for easy access to raw milk in grocery stores and farmers markets. Local raw milk dairy farmer Erica DeSmet stole the show by joining the web-meeting while being out in the pasture with her favorite cows. The Ordinance barely squeaked through the FGO Committee on a 3-to-2 vote, and then it was off to the full City Council for consideration.

De Smet Dairy operates just south of Albuquerque in Bosque Farms, NM (image from New Mexico Magazine)

Finally, this week, the Albuquerque City Council was slated to vote on the Raw Milk Ordinance. Five hours into the meeting, after 10pm at night, the City Council finally reached the Raw Milk Ordinance agenda item.  Lissa and The Mouse Hole Cheese Shop gave compelling comments alongside Mark McAfee and Sarah Smith from Raw Milk Institute, all urging the City Council to allow raw milk in Albuquerque. There was only a small show of opposition, from a vegan City Council member, and then it was smooth sailing to victory with a 7-to-2 vote! The final step to enactment is for the Mayor to sign the Bill; we are encouraged by the fact that it was the Mayor who proposed this legislation to the Council.

The barriers to raw milk in Albuquerque have now been broken down. Just as in other places where raw milk has been legalized, it required diligence, persistence, and passion in order to make it happen. No longer will Albuquerque be a raw milk desert. Instead, families and farmers can mutually thrive with low-risk raw milk.

Welcoming 6 Farms to RAWMI Community in Illinois, Iowa, Tennessee, Texas, and New York

The Raw Milk Institute (RAWMI) sends a warm welcome to six more farmers who have completed our Listing program! RAWMI offers free mentoring to all dairy farmers. Whether they are milking one cow, a handful of goats, or a large herd, the principles of safe raw milk production form a foundational toolset that benefits all dairy farmers and their customers. 

Some of the farmers we mentor choose to keep it casual, and are satisfied to just ask us a few questions before continuing their raw milk journeys. There is another set of farmers, though, that is not content to just dip their toes in the water; they want to dive right in and take their entire milk process to the next level. 

For these farmers, we offer our (free) RAWMI Listing program, wherein we assist farmers in developing their own unique on-farm Risk Analysis and Management Plan, documenting their processes with written Standard Sanitary Operating Procedures, and identifying the Critical Control Points that are essential to their production of safe raw milk. RAWMI Listed farmers test their milk at least monthly for ongoing assurance that their processes are working well to produce low-risk raw milk. RAWMI Listing is the gold standard for raw milk producers.

Six farms have recently completed the RAWMI Listing process, and we extend them a warm welcome into our growing community!

• ACM Grace Hill in Washington, Iowa

• Flowered Cow Dairy in Penfield, Illinois

• LanaRosa Dairy in Leicester, New York

• Shady Paddock Farm in Paige, Texas

• The Lucky Star in Iowa City, Iowa

• Whispering Willows Farm and Dairy in Thompson’s Station, Tennessee

ACM Grace Hill – Washington, Iowa

ACM Grace Hill is operated by Andy and Christy Meader in the historic Grace Hill community. Their home is the original Grace Hill store, mentioned in the book Iowa Outpost written by Katherine Buxbaum who grew up in the home.

Since 2006, the Meaders have used raw milk for their own family and found it helpful for many of their health concerns. They started out with a small hand-milked herd of goats, but have now moved into machine milking with cows. They believe in the importance of quality local nutrition and produce A2 raw milk from registered Guernsey cattle. They are proud to follow the RAWMI framework for producing the best quality raw milk products.

You can learn more about ACM Grace Hill here: https://www.rawmilkinstitute.org/listed-farmers/#acm

Flowered Cow Dairy – Penfield, Illinois

Flowered Cow Dairy is operated by Elizabeth Hesterberg on her family’s farm in Illinois. Elizabeth grew up on her family’s farm and originally started producing milk for her own family before growing her herd to provide milk for her community.  Elizabeth is very passionate about providing healthy, clean, low-risk raw milk for her community and bridging the gap between farm and consumer. Coliform and Standard Plate Count tests are run twice per week in the on-farm lab to ensure milk quality and safety.

Each of the Jersey cows in the milking herd at Flowered Cow Dairy is given a floral name to reflect the beauty, femininity, and individual personality of the cow. The small herd is rotationally grazed on pasture throughout the growing season and supplemented with a small ration of non-GMO grain at milking time.

You can learn more about Flowered Cow Dairy here: https://www.rawmilkinstitute.org/listed-farmers/#flowered

LanaRosa Dairy – Leicester, New York

LanaRosa Dairy is operated by Lana and Wayne Scofield on their 100-acre farm in New York. Wayne and Lana have a scrap metal recycling facility and Lana has transitioned to working full time on the farm. Lana originally sought raw milk to help with healing her health problems, and they decided to get a Jersey cow since there were no local sources for raw milk. Once their community saw the cow out in the pasture, people were clamoring for raw milk so their herd grew from there.

Lana and Wayne decided to take the step of becoming permitted by the New York Department of Ag and Markets in 2022 and just celebrated their first year in August 2023.  They are happy to share delicious Jersey milk with their community. They are a boutique dairy which only allows them to serve a limited number of consumers. 

You can learn more about LanaRosa Dairy here: https://www.rawmilkinstitute.org/listed-farmers/#lana

Shady Paddock Farm – Paige, Texas

Shady Paddock Farm is operated by Tammy and Dennis Gallagher on 13 beautiful acres in Central Texas. Tammy is a former Registered Nurse and Dennis is a retired Marine. After originally producing raw milk and cheese for their own family, Tammy and Dennis fell in love with Nigerian Dwarf goats and the farming way of life.

The Gallaghers believe that the very best food products come from healthy, happy, and stress-free animals. With this in mind, their animals are raised with a compassionate care philosophy. They are excited to share delicious and creamy goat milk provided with their community. 

You can learn more about Shady Paddock Farm here: https://www.rawmilkinstitute.org/listed-farmers/#shady

The Lucky Star Farm – Iowa City, Iowa

The Lucky Star Farm is operated by Susan Young on a 20-acre diverse homestead in Iowa. Susan is an educator and her family started their farm back in 2011.  Susan milks Nigerian dwarf goats and her customers appreciate the delicious sweet milk, high in protein and butterfat.

The goats are machine milked once-a-day and milk is tested weekly in the on-farm lab to ensure all milk is up to RAWMI standards. Susan is committed to producing the highest quality raw milk possible for her community and dedicated to sharing local food, education and farm experiences with others.

You can learn more about The Lucky Star Farm here: https://www.rawmilkinstitute.org/listed-farmers/#lucky

Whispering Willows Farm and Dairy – Thompson’s Station, Tennessee

Whispering Willows Farm and Dairy is operated by Jennifer and Brad Wilson in middle Tennessee. Brad was a management consultant and Jennifer was a PhD biophysics researcher prior to homeschooling and starting the farm.

Whispering Willows originally started out as a rabbit farm, but that soon grew to include chickens, goats, and cows. The Wilsons are passionate about providing nutritious foods for their community. They produce both cow and goat milk, as well as raw yogurt and a variety of hard and soft cheeses.

You can learn more about Whispering Willows Farm and Dairy here: https://www.rawmilkinstitute.org/listed-farmers/#willows

New Raw Milk Research From the 2023 IMGC Symposium

A Farmer’s Takeaways from the 2023 Symposium of the International Milk Genomics Consortium (IMGC)

“If you are the smartest person in the room, you are in the wrong room.”

Introduction

Well…I was in the right room at IMGC with a huge opportunity to learn and grow. Just like all prior years.

The 20th International Milk Genomics Consortium (IMGC) Symposium was held on September 6-8 2023. This was the 12th year that I have attended the IMGC Symposium. For the last several years, the Raw Milk Institute has been an official Bronze Level Sponsor of the conference. These conferences have taken me all over the world, including Cork Ireland, Quebec Canada, Aarhus Demark (twice), Sydney Australia, and UC Davis in California several times. I am nearly always the only farmer in the room filled with dairy processing scientists, PhD students, dairy science professors and university professors, and other milk researchers.

Over 12 years, I have made some great friends and created some important collaborations and alliances. I am approached by PhDs, especially after I speak at the microphone after a particularly engaging presentation that begs questions. They say things like, “Keep on asking those great questions!”  I am the only one that can ask those questions because everyone else would potentially lose their NIH or industry grants if they dared to asked those kinds of questions.

Time and interest are ushering in a new generation of open-minded PhD researchers, many of whom are women. They all want to talk about raw milk and its bioactive elements. Raw milk is truly a miracle of nature.  Being an event sponsor has allowed greater access to insider information about all things milk.  Below are my main takeaways from three intensive days of meetings, interactions, meals and dinner parties, and presentations in Cork Ireland at the University of Cork.

Raw Milk Institute was a Bronze Level Sponsor of the 2023 IMGC Symposium

Raw Milk Nourishes, Protects, and Directs

Raw milk is incredibly complex and perfectly designed to nourish, protect, and direct. We all know that raw milk is designed as the first food of life for babies to thrive and grow, yet as researchers continue to study raw milk, they discover many more benefits.

For instance, raw milk serves as a delivery system for immune-bioactive proteins. Peptides (which are chains of amino acid proteins) are protective of the baby by not allowing pathogens to cause illness. These functional proteins serve many roles, including protection of the baby.

Other specialized-proteins in breastmilk include natural mRNA, which provide the genetic information to direct cellular metabolic processes in the baby.  Breastmilk also contains stem cells for repair of damaged cells or tissues.

Raw milk also contains everything needed for its digestion. Raw milk has proteases, peptidases (for digesting proteins), lipases (for digesting fats), and bacteria that make lactase (for digesting lactose).

Additionally, when people drink milk, over time there are changes in the composition of the gut bacteria that make milk digestion easier. Lactase-producing bacteria found in the gut become the probiotic and as they feed on lactose, that becomes their selected prebiotic (food that bacteria chose to digest or eat). Over time the populations of these lactose-loving probiotic bacteria increase when they are fed lactose from dairy products.

The various milk proteins, immunoglobins, enzymes, fats and sugars are “qualitatively similar” between human breastmilk and cow milk. However, they are “quantitatively different” and appear at different levels and amounts in cow milk versus human milk. The same would be true for other bovine milks. The similarities are why humans can drink raw milk from cows, goats, and other animals. 

Milk’s Benefits Can’t Be Extracted

Many raw milk researchers are focused on finding ways to extract beneficial elements from raw milk. However, these elements are designed to work together with the full complement of many different macro- and micro- nutrients, enzymes, probiotics, etc in whole raw milk.

New products made with bio-actives extracted from raw milk will likely be met with suspicion, as well they should. The health benefits from whole, raw milk are the result of a complex interplay of bio-actives. Outside of the whole food matrix, those bio-actives are incomplete and not as effective as in their natural state.

Milk Fat is Essential to Its Beneficial Properties

Butterfat in milk is an essential part of milk’s overall beneficial properties. This fat is known to benefit brain development, immune system development, intestinal development, and the composition of the gut microbiota.

Butter fat globules are three-layer thick capsules that come in different sizes. The three-layered capsules are used by the gut as fiber; they also provide butyrate and butyric acids which are highly beneficial and healing to the lower gut. 60% of the bioactive elements found in raw milk are “carried on or inside” the fat globule. This says so much about skim milk, which has lost much of its beneficial value with the removal of the fat.

Researchers discovered that the fat globules in the milk are smaller in cows fed a high energy diet with high stress levels, such as cows being kept in concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). The smaller fat globules in the milk do not contain bacteria inside that could ride through the stomach to the lower gut.

In contrast, the fat globules are larger in cows fed a low energy diet and under low stress levels (such as cows in pasture-based operations).  These larger fat globules carry bacteria inside of them. It is thought that the fat cell may act as a protective carrier vessel to carry bacteria though the stomach acid environment into the lower gut where they may be beneficial.

Pasteurization Damages and Denatures Milk

Pasteurization damages milk such that it becomes oxidated, highly allergenic, and hard to digest. It is a common protocol to pasteurize milk up to 3 or 4 times to achieve longer shelf life and assure that the milk is completely dead, with no regard for the essential and beneficial bio-actives that are destroyed in the process. 

Raw milk contains everything it needs to digest itself. Raw milk contains enzymes and bacteria that help create more enzymes to digest raw milk and all the sub elements. Milk maldigestion has been over simplified. It is not just lactose; it is the proteins and fats that also need help with digestion.

After pasteurization the bioactive elements needed for milk to digest itself are missing! Fats, proteins, and sugars all need digesting, but their enzymes and digestive bacteria are denatured or dead.  Without active enzymes, digestion of fat (via lipase) and proteins (via protease) is inhibited. This results in maldigestion in some consumers. 

Whereas raw milk helps to build immune system strength, pasteurized milk does not build up the immune system. Heat denatures the functional proteins and does not allow cellular direction. This can result in cellular confusion and chaos.

Raw whey proteins are highly anti-inflammatory and have many health benefits. The raw whey health benefit findings are consistent with other researchers in the Netherlands, including Dr. Ton Baars’ research on whey proteins showing that they stabilize MAST cells, control histamine release, and reduce allergies.

However, all whey is required to be pasteurized in the USA as per the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Pasteurized Milk Ordinance. Whey proteins are destroyed by processing and are highly sensitive to heat. One researcher has been frustrated in trying to extract the beneficial components from pasteurized whey. The heating of whey makes the components “sticky” such that they plug up the ultrafiltration micropores. Therefore, ultra filtration cannot be used to extract whey components from pasteurized whey.

New Pasteurization Technologies Cause Less Damage Than Traditional Heat Pasteurization

As an alternative to heat-based pasteurization, researchers are studying other methods such as high pressure (HPP), ultrafiltration, and ultraviolet (UV) light. These methods are effective at inactivating bacteria and less harmful to milk than heat-based pasteurization. For instance, both high pressure processing and ultraviolet processing preserve some of the bioactive milk proteins better than heat-based pasteurization.

Nonetheless, milk processors in the USA are resisting the use of these new technologies. In some other countries, UV and HPP are being successfully used, but in the USA the FDA continues to represent processors’ interests and thereby block the ability to innovate with these alternatives to heat processing. This failure to innovate with HPP, UV or Ultrafiltration is creating a loss of consumer interest in pasteurized milk as people continue to suffer from maldigestion when consuming pasteurized milk.

In Studies, 20,000+ Kids Drank Raw Milk With NO Milk-Related Illnesses

The pioneering PARSIFAL and GABRIELA studies of more than 55,000 kids in Europe really set the international high bar for studies on raw milk. The overall findings included reduced rates of asthma, eczema, respiratory illnesses, fevers, allergies, and ear infections in children who drank raw milk.

At the symposium, it was emphasized that during all of those studies and over twenty years of research, there was never a “red flag event.” A red flag event would be a reported illness from raw milk consumption. The studies included data from more than 20,000 children who drank raw milk, and there was not a single red flag event!

Yet, at the end of each of the peer reviewed and journal published articles, there is a disclaimer that says something such as, “even though there are health benefits to consuming raw milk, the researchers can not recommend raw milk because of the risks of raw milk consumption.” This disclaimer was included because peer review and journal publication political pressures demanded it, despite the fact that there was no basis in the research data.

Dr. Markus Ege MD and Mark McAfee, in Cork Ireland at the IMGC symposium 2023

Raw Milk Provides Sustainability for Farmers and Superb Nutrition for Consumers

Farmers have been denied fair markets for their dairy products for more than a century. All of the value-added efforts are happening after products leave the farm. Milk processors continue to ensure that farmers are paid low prices for their milk, resulting in the loss of thousands of family farms. However, raw milk provides a pathway to sustainability and life satisfaction for dairy farmers.

Raw milk presents a unique farmstead product that brings all the added value back to the farmer with an incentive to work on quality. By selling directly to consumers, raw milk farmers are able to obtain greater financial rewards for their work, while consumers benefit from the improved flavor and nutrition. It’s a win-win for farmers and consumers!

Raw milk that is carefully and intentionally produced for direct human consumption is a low-risk food. This type of raw milk is wholly different from raw milk being produced in unhygienic conditions. Raw milk intended for direct human consumption is produced in sanitary conditions, with much care to ensure that the animals are healthy and that the milk is clean. This type of raw milk is tested often and held to rigorous standards to ensure that it is being produced in a way that discourages pathogen growth.

By combining nature’s blueprints, the bio-actives found in whole raw milk, standards for good production practices and modern testing systems, RAWMI Listed farmers are nourishing consumers safely. Congrats to all of the RAWMI Listed pioneers! 

Texas Raw Milk Training: For World-Class, Low-Risk Raw Milk!

Raw Milk Institute (RAWMI) recently taught a full-day intensive farmer training class on Production of Low-Risk, World-Class Raw Milk in Mount Pleasant Texas. RAWMI President Mark McAfee and Vice President Sarah Smith traveled to Texas to teach this class in collaboration with Northeast Texas Community College (NTCC).

There were 25+ attendees from Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas. Attendees included farmers who are already producing raw milk, prospective farmers considering raw milk production, and students who were interested to know more about raw milk.

RAWMI presented our full 5-hour training presentation in the NTCC Ag Complex classroom, complete with catered snacks and lunch from local businesses.

A Texas state dairy inspector also presented and answered questions about Texas raw milk laws. She provided invaluable information about Texas’ Raw for Retail statute as well as the allowance for herdshares in Texas.

Following our classroom presentation, we took the students for a farm tour at Udder Delight Dairy, which is a raw milk micro-dairy that is operated by Tom and Brenda Ramler. Their dairy is currently working through our free one-on-one mentoring process to become a RAWMI Listed dairy.

Overall, this class was a resounding success! The students were engaged and appreciative of the opportunity to learn more. Several farmers who attended the class have expressed interest in becoming RAWMI Listed as well.

RAWMI extends special thanks to Tom Ramler, Jimmy Smith, and Northeast Texas Community College for sponsoring and coordinating this important step for safe, low-risk raw milk in Texas!