Raw Milk is Inherently Unsafe and Responsible for Repeated Outbreaks

Posted by Fred Pritzker in Food Safety

In my line of work representing victims of foodborne illness, I have frequent contact with food safety experts including microbiologists, epidemiologists, sanitarians and infectious disease physicians. Not once have any of these experts ever recommended consumption of raw milk.

Why? Because EXPERTS, the people who have studied, trained, conducted experiments, treated patients and written peer-reviewed articles (not pseudo-scientists who BELIEVE something to be true), know that raw milk is inherently unsafe.  Raw milk is responsible for repeated outbreaks and will continue to cause injury and death no matter what its proponents claim to the contrary.

Need proof? Look no further than this month’s raw milk outbreak involving fourth graders at a public school in Wisconsin.

In Racine County, Wisconsin a parent (!) brought raw milk to a school event. Sixteen people, including at least nine children, were poisoned with Campylobactor jejuni bacteria after consuming the donated milk.

According to Wisconsin officials, this incredibly stupid action on the parent’s part was not illegal. Apparently, any person who lawfully purchases raw milk can give it away to anyone with impunity.

Proponents claim that consumption of raw milk is healthful, nutritious and a matter of personal choice. Their argument is that if a person knows of the risk (which they claim is de minimis) and chooses to encounter it, it is that person’s choice and the state should not intrude.

Fair enough. Except, that a) there is no proof raw milk is healthier than pasteurized milk; b) the risks associated with raw milk are not de minimis; c) when people become ill from raw milk, as some inevitably will, we all (not just the victim) have to pay for it, and d) as this case tragically illustrates, “freedom of choice” does not prevent innocent children from being harmed.

According to a Wisconsin newspaper, “bills to legalize the sale of unpasteurized milk have been introduced in the Legislature in the past. One passed last year, but former Gov. Jim Doyle vetoed it citing the danger to public health.” Enough said.

Attorney Fred Pritzker represents campylobacteriosis victims and their families nationwide. He is currently representing a man who consumed raw milk contaminated with Campylobacter, developed Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) and is now paralyzed. Mr. Pritzker can be reached at 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or by submitting our contact form.

The High Cost of E. coli and Salmonella Food Poisoning

Posted by Fred Pritzker in Food Safety

Americans pay about $3.13 billion a year in costs incurred each year by Salmonella and E. coli O157:H7 alone, according to the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP).

The center is reporting figures gathered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Economic Research Service (ERS). As seen in the chart below, the ERS used estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to come up with cost estimates for both E. coli and Salmonella cases annually. The numbers for Salmonella costs are based on the CDC’s estimate of almost 1.4 million Salmonella cases each year, which includes 415 deaths. The average cost per case is an estimated $1,896.

Pathogen	CDC estimate of annual number of cases	ERS cost estimate (2009 dollars)
Campylobacter (foodborne sources)	2,000,000
Salmonella (all sources)	1,397,187	$2,649,413,401
Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O157 (STEC O157) (all sources)	73,480	$478,381,766
Non-O157 shiga toxin-producing E. coli (non-STEC O157) (all sources)	31,229
Listeria (all sources)	2,797

The CDC numbers of E coli O157 cases are significantly lower, at 73,480 cases a year with 61 deaths, however the per-case cost of $6,510 is much higher than Salmonella cases.

According to CIDRAP:

“The ERS has posted an online “Foodborne Illness Cost Calculator” that allows Web users to come up with their own estimates of the cost of foodborne illnesses for a state or region or for a given outbreak. The ERS’s estimates, which have been used in cost-benefit and impact analyses, include assumptions about disease incidence, outcome severity, and medical and productivity costs.”

Currently the only pathogens available in the calculator are Salmonella and E. coli O157, however, the ERS is planning on adding Listeria, Campylobacter, and other strains of E. coli (non-0157 shiga toxin-producing E. coli such as ecoli 0111 and E. coli 0145). The types of costs taken into consideration by the USDA’s ERS include:

• Medical costs
• Time missed from work due to illness
• Cost of premature death

However, they do NOT include costs such as:

• Pain and suffering
• Travel
• Child care

A similar report released in March by The Produce Safety Project, an initiative of The Pew Charitable Trusts at Georgetown University, estimated much higher numbers, with a total cost of $152 billion per year for all pathogens, $14.6 billion for Salmonella and $993 million for E. coli 0157.