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Un Pasteurised Milk

Listlad

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Messages
3,971
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
The other day I drank a few glasses of unpasteurised milk. It was being served in a huge stainless steel jug chiefly for milk for teas and coffees. The jug was so huge that I was able to drink a couple of hundred ml of it. It was delicious. Straight from the cow, effectively.

I will probably buy some today at another local farm shop. Is this stuff going to cause me harm with it being unpasteurised?
 
I would think you'll be fine so long as it's fresh. Or you'll be dead by tonight. Depends who you listen to
 
Jim Lahey said:
I would think you'll be fine so long as it's fresh. Or you'll be dead by tonight. Depends who you listen to
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I had some on Wednesday and Thursday. Yes, it was from the cow that morning and had been chilled down.
 
Listlad said:
OMG. Too late now.

I notice it is another topic that draws polar opposite views. Speaking to a lady at work, she has drunk it since a young child and so have her children.
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My father smoked all his life and didn't have a problem with it, doesn't mean there isn't a risk. In the case of the milk you might think the risk is small and worth taking if you really like the taste, it's up to you.
 
I love it and occasionally buy some at a farmer in my area!
The chances of getting sick from salmonella, listeria, E-coli or campylobacter are way higher than with 'normal' milk but still very small.
In the past raw milk held the risk of getting tuberculosis but not anymore (at least not in the Netherlands, don't know about the UK). I think the strong warnings about raw milk are a leftover from those times.
 
In the end, I think if you enjoy it and it hasn't killed you by the end the week then you're probably fine. I don't pay much attention to common beliefs when it comes to diet and nutrition. If I did I'd probably be a one-legged blind man by now.

Disclaimer: I take no responsibility if you collapse in a heap tomorrow
 

It’s fantastic for your gut microbiome, which in turn is vital for good health.
 
Yes, I suppose the level of risk is small.
 
Resurgam said:
These days the welfare of the cows is far higher, with many getting regular health checks and tests - plus the milk is chilled faster - you should be fine.
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Yes, I was told the milk goes straight from the cows to the chiller. The people I am working for supply blue chip companies.
 


However I did visit another local farm today that sold raw milk at £1 per litre. They used a serve yourself vending machine type operation. And this sign was up on the machine. I decided not to buy any.

I did buy a litre of double cream, some chicken breasts and some sausages.
 
In the Netherlands we have a pretty ridiculous law around raw milk. It can only be sold directly from the big cooled tank where the milk goes directly after milking, you can't bottle it before the customer comes in. So far, so good, it makes some sense. But then the seller/farmer is obliged by law to tell their customer the milk should be heated before use.
Which usually comes out something like: "According to the law I can only sell you this milk when I tell you the law says I have to tell you you should heat the milk before using. So I just told you that. Now please go ahead and do whatever you like with our milk. And by the way, my whole family drinks it just like it is."

I guess the sign serves the same purpose within UK laws.
 
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I believe that the stock/farm have more rigorous health checks if the they are selling milk as unpasteurised, however as it’s not treated there is obviously a higher risk of it containing something. Hence the required warnings accompanying it when you purchase it. I’m sure if you spoke to the farmer/farm shop assistant they could explain things further. I personally don’t think the risk can be all that high if it was very dangerous then selling any unpasteurised milk or milk products would simply be banned.
 
Fndwheelie said:
... personally don’t think the risk can be all that high if it was very dangerous then sellingany unpasteurised milk or milk products would simply be banned.
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That’s what I thought.
 
I was bought up on raw milk straight from the farm and it didn’t do me any harm.
 
Listlad said:
Would you drink it, Mr Pot?
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Well, the only milk I drink is a dash in a cup of coffee. Even if unpasteurised tasted nicer it wouldn't make much difference by the time it was in the coffee. I do have a beer most evenings which is a sort of risk but I enjoy the beer enough to take the risk. If I drank milk I would have to decide how much the increased pleasure of unpasteurised balanced against the small risk. Probably I couldn't be bothered to think about it, so would just have normal milk.
 
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