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+--- Thread: Research With bird flu in raw milk, many still do not know risks of consuming it (survey data) (/thread-17597.html)
With bird flu in raw milk, many still do not know risks of consuming it (survey data) - C C - Mar 16, 2025
With bird flu in raw milk, many in U.S. still do not know risks of consuming it
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1076994
INTRO: Although the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) located H5N1 bird flu virus in samples of raw, or unpasteurized, milk in tests in four states in April 2024, and bird flu has been detected in commercially sold raw milk, many Americans do not know that consuming raw milk and its products poses greater health risks than consuming pasteurized milk and its products, especially for children. Consuming raw milk can expose one to Salmonella, E. coli, Campylobacter, Cryptosporidium, Listeria, and Brucella – and, potentially, H5N1 bird flu.
A majority of U.S. adults (56%) knows that drinking raw milk from cows, sheep, or goats is less safe than drinking pasteurized milk. But over 4 in 10 Americans either are not sure (25%), think raw milk is “just as safe to drink” as pasteurized milk (12%) or think it is “safer to drink” (6%), according to a recent survey by the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) of the University of Pennsylvania. The findings are statistically unchanged from APPC’s July 2024 survey. Almost a third of people (32%) know that drinking raw milk increases a person’s risk of foodborne illness, though 14% think it has no effect and 51% are not sure.
The survey, conducted Jan. 30-Feb. 10, 2025, among more than 1,700 empaneled U.S. adults, also finds that two-thirds (66%) do not know that children are more vulnerable than adults to getting sick from the viruses and bacteria that can occur in raw milk. (See the topline for data.)
“Consuming raw milk and raw milk products can make you sick and pasteurization reduces the risk of milk-borne illness,” said Patrick E. Jamieson, director of APPC’s Annenberg Health and Risk Communication Institute. “Looking for the pasteurization label before buying or consuming milk or milk products such as cheese is good practice.” (MORE - details, no ads)