The Safety of Raw Milk - A Letter to the Colorado Department of Public Health

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" M M " <SpokaneRealtor

 

Friday, November 05, 2004 4:25 PM

The Safety of Raw Milk - A Letter to the

Colorado Department of Public Health

 

 

>

>

> The Safety of Raw Milk - A Letter to the Colorado Department of Public

> Health

> by Mark McAfee

>

> Dear Sirs,

>

> I have been requested to share with you our commercial organic raw milk

> production and sales experience. For the last four years Organic Pastures

> Dairy www.organicpastures.com has produced a full line of raw organic

dairy

> products for retail sale (300 stores including Wholefoods) and consumption

> here in California. The state of CA ( CDFA ) monitors and tests all of our

> raw dairy products multiple times per month. The state has never found one

> pathogen (Salmonella, Ecoli 0157 or Listeria) in any of our products. Even

> more interesting is the fact that not one human pathogen has ever been

found

> in the hundreds of environmental swabs that have been taken in our plant

> facility.

>

> Dr. Caterina Berge DVM and PhD candidate at UC Davis tested our milk cows'

> fresh manure and did not find any human pathogens. That's right.no

> Salmonella. She was able to show that when antibiotics are not ever used

on

> the herd (organic standards) that cows that are not stressed (grass fed

and

> kept healthy) they simply do not slough pathogens in their manure. The

data

> collected at OPDC was quite different than what was found at other

dairies.

> The typical conventional milk tank had either Salmonella or Ecoli 0157

> detected about 30% of the time. In comparison, OPDC has never had one

> pathogen--ever.

>

> To study this issue further, OPDC contracted with BSK labs in Fresno to

> perform multiple challenge and recovery tests on our raw milk and raw

> colostrum. When 7 logs (10 million counts) of pathogens were added to a

one

> ml samples of organic raw milk they would not grow. In fact they died off.

> The salmonella was so badly out competed that it could not be found in

less

> than 24 hours. The listeria drop was less dramatic and was similar to the

> ecoli 0157 samples that were studied, but they also did not grow and

> declined substantially over time.

>

> The lab concluded:

> " .organic raw milk and colostrum do not appear to support the growth of

> pathogens.. " .

>

> During the period 2000 through 2004 there were several listeria related

food

> recalls in California associated with pasteurized milk products and

> icecream. During this same period more than 12 million servings of OPDC

> products were consumed and not one person complained of illness and not

one

> pathogen was ever found either by the state, FDA or OPDC.

>

> This begs the bigger question. What is it that causes raw milk to kill

> pathogens? The FDA just in the last 24 months has approved Lactoferrin as

an

> approved method of treatment for pathogen reduction in beef slaughter

> plants. Raw milk naturally has levels of this enzyme based pathogen

killer.

> Pasteurization actually inactivates this and other enzymes that kill

> pathogens. These enzymes include, lactoferrin, xanthine oxidase,

> lactoperoxidase, lysozyme, and nisin. There are other interrelated enzymes

> and beneficial bacteria that also act on the pathogens to inhibit their

> growth. All of these systems are destroyed by pasteurization. It is no

> wonder that dairy plants that pasteurize must be kept absolutely spotless.

> There are no remaining safety systems in the processed milk.

>

> I will be presenting my experiences and the factual references that I have

> mentioned here during my verbal address in Colorado on May 19th.

>

> Our company ships product all over the world. We have been inspected by

the

> FDA and the FDA has also never found a pathogen. It may seem strange to

say

> or claim this, but Mother Nature is right, her blue print is right on

point.

> It is mankind that has added variables that cause much of the concern for

> pathogens in our current market systems. Our consumers are made ill by

> pasteurized milk products and the additives and processing methods. Our

> consumers share their testimonials with us every day. Asthma, allergies,

> arthritis, immune related disorders, autism, ADD, Chrones Disease, rare

> enzyme deficiencies.the list goes on and on. In each of these cases raw

milk

> or raw dairy products makes a dramatic improvement in health. There have

> been cases when patients have been written off by modern medicine only to

> return to perfect health after drinking raw colostrums and raw dairy

> products. Please see www.makersdiet.com for a story of one persons

recovery

> from near death using raw dairy.

>

> It is imperative that the citizens of our nation, not just California have

> an informed choice in foods. If raw milk was so horrible then why is it

that

> raw milk has such an incredibly safe record here in California and in

> Colorado. I would argue that since we have been in business there have

been

> many listeria recalls and food outbreaks with pasteurized milk.but not

> organic raw milk. As an American we can buy raw eggs, raw meat, raw fresh

> juices, why not raw dairy products. Show us one case of disease related to

> natural raw dairy products in Colorado or California. They are very hard

to

> find. They are nearly all related to pasteurizer failure not raw dairy

> products intended for consumption.

>

> The dairy industry does not understand what I have explained here in

detail.

> What the dairy industry believes is that raw milk contaminates pasteurized

> milk. This is not the case. Pasteurized milk kills the safety systems that

> control pathogens in raw milk and therefore permit unlimited growth of

> dangerous bacteria if present.

>

> Our products have what Mother Nature intended. a diversity of good

bacteria

> and a wide range of essential enzymes including lactase for lactose

> digestion and phosphatase that is essential for the utilization of

calcium.

>

> Please call 1-877-Raw Milk and I would be happy to discuss these

experiences

> and the hard data that backs them up. Feel free to call CDFA and ask for

the

> lab tests results. You will find zero pathogens detected at any time from

> any test.

>

> I look forward to your questions. I am dedicated to sharing information,

> education and the building of understanding relationships. In fact we

place

> our most sensitive bacteria data at our website for all the world to see.

> www.organicpastures.com. I have medical background having served as a

> certified paramedic and medical educator for the Fresno County Health

> Department for 16 years, and having run more than 14,000 911 calls.

>

> See you on May 19th. I do have a special request, can I please have 10

> minutes for presentation of information. I will be traveling especially

for

> this event and would appreciate the exception to the 5 minute rule. I am

the

> only creamery operator in North America to produce the products at issue

and

> believe my experience and tests are absolutely on point.

>

> Most kind regards,

>

> Mark McAfee

> Founder OPDC

>

>

> --------

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>

> Dr. Mercola's comments:

>

> Mark McAfee is the founder of Organic Pastures Raw Diary Farm. Organic

> Pastures invented and built the first and only grade A organic mobile

dairy

> barn of its kind in North America. None of their individually named cows

are

> ever given antibiotics, hormones or GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms).

> Only pasture, natural grains, and approved organic homeopathic methods are

> used to feed and care for the cows. The health of each cow is a high

> priority and preventative healthcare keeps the herd healthy all year.

>

> If it was just a choice between pasteurized milk or none at all (which up

to

> now was the case for many) I would advise none at all. But now, after

> literarally years of searching, I have found Organic Pastures Dairy

Company

> -- an exceptionally safe and healthy source of raw pasture-grazed

certified

> organic milk -- and other raw dairy products like butter, cream and

> colostrum -- that can legally ship their products anywhere in the country!

> Order these exceptionally nutritious and delicious raw dairy products

today.

>

>

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>

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>

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