The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has reiterated its recommendation to consumers not to drink raw milk, which carries the risk of potentially dangerous bacteria infection.
The announcement comes after the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) published an expert opinion that drinking raw milk can pose a serious risk to consumers. The FSAI has continually recommended that all milk made for human consumption should be pasteurised.
E. Coli, Salmonella, Campylobacter and Listeria, all of which can cause severe illnesses, can be found in raw milk. These bacteria can be especially dangerous to members of vulnerable groups such as children, the elderly and pregnant women. National and international studies have found that pasteurisation is the best way to kill these bacteria, and eliminate the risk of food poisoning.
Professor Alan Reilly, CEO, Food Safety Authority of Ireland explained the FSAI opinion, which is that pasteurisation is the most reliable and acceptable way to ensure that milk is safe to drink, adding that there are well-documented serious health risks associated with drinking raw milk.
"In recent months, we have studied reports from different parts of the world which show that children are at real risk when drinking raw milk. In Australia, the death of a child and the hospitalisation of four others were associated with drinking raw milk in December last year. In the UK, six cases of E. coli, including five cases in children were linked to farms selling raw milk from cows late last year," Reilly commented.
© 2014 - Checkout Magazine by Jenny Whelan.
