California Recalls, Quarantines Raw Milk Products

[Purveyor]

(11-16) 10:18 PST Fresno, Calif. (AP) --

California officials are recalling and putting under quarantine raw organic milk from a company after E. coli sent three California children to the hospital.

State Veterinarian Dr. Annette Whiteford ordered all milk, butter, cream, colostrum and "Qephor" by Organic Pastures Dairy Co. of Fresno County pulled from the shelves.

The California Department of Food and Agriculture announced Tuesday that laboratory samples of Organic Pastures raw milk have not detected the particular strain of E. coli.

MORE...

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/11/16/national/a101858S90.DTL

[MineralMan]

1. Parents: Don't feed your kids raw milk.

For pete's sake. They trust you not to give them food that will make them sick.

[ret5hd]

2. but mcfood is ok?

why stop at raw milk. give your kids food thats good for 'em. veggies, fruits.

but they won't eat that!

who's the parent?

[MineralMan]

3. Did I say that? I don't believe I did.

I wouldn't, either. Children need good, wholesome, nutritious food. At the very least, parents should not be feeding them raw dairy products. There's just too much risk of E. coli or listeria. Yes, you could go quite awhile without encountering those problems, but when you do, they're nasty, and can even be deadly. There's a reason for pasteurization. A good reason.

I'm not suggesting fast food as an alternative. Why would you think I was?

[ret5hd]

4. i actually meant to reply to the OP. Sorry.

[laconicsax]

5. Did the OP suggest the "mcfood" was an appropriate alternative?

:shrug:

[MineralMan]

6. Uh, OK, but I didn't see the OP suggest that "mcfood" was

a good alternative either. What is it, exactly, that you're trying to say. You can speak directly.

[reggie the dog]

9. millions of kids in france eat raw milk cheese

french people have been eating raw milk cheese for thousands of years.

[supernova]

7. Honestly, I don't get the raw milk contingent

What's supposed to be so all fired good about raw milk? (Other than raw milk cheese, a different animal altogether. )

I'm lactose intolerant anyway, so I don't consume milk at all. But when I still did, I did prefer the pasturized kind. It's just basic common sense.

[trotsky]

8. It's an interesting issue.

First, you have a group of people who think that it is atrocious that we are even drinking another animal's milk at all.

Second, there is another group that believes not only does pasteurization destroy some of the vitamins and nutrients (which it unfortunately does), that it ALSO somehow converts the milk from being a nutritious drink to a deadly poison which is responsible for whatever diseases they decide that particular day.

Hard to have any kind of rational discussion with either group, unfortunately.

[Recursion]

11. It's a proxy for locovore/remotovore stuff

I drink it occasionally though I'm not one of the people who won't shut up about it. I will say that I find UHT stuff damn near undrinkable.

Pasteurization removes some dangers and introduces others, mostly indirectly: it's now possible to have huge industrial dairies that ship milk across the country. There are still outbreaks (mostly listeria and botulism) and when they happen they're more widespread.

Not being a microbiologist, I'm agnostic on the health aspects, but as a gourmet the taste difference is undeniable. Now admittedly I grew up on the stuff (lived on a farm with cows) so there's some nostalgia/comfort food aspect there.

[Recursion]

10. Beneficial bacteria is the main thing

Pasteurization kills the good and the bad stuff.

Also, it tastes really, really good.

[supernova]

12. You can get the same probiotics

in non dairy formula now. And it's perfectly safe. I know because I use them.