DO YOU HAVE A BURNING QUESTION? WE WILL DO OUR BEST TO GIVE YOU AN ANSWER!


Meet the pub quiz team!

OUR CUSTOMERS ASK US ALL SORTS OF QUESTIONS ABOUT RAW MILK, LIKE THESE FROM NATALIE IN PALMERS GREEN, LONDON.

Here's Natalie's questions;

1. Do you drink raw milk? Have you ever become ill from drinking it?

Yes, I have drunk raw milk all my life (I'm 44) and so has dad (67years old) We have never been ill from drinking our own milk. Claire and I have four very fit boys aged 17, 15, 13 and 9. They have all drank raw milk from 6months old and have never been ill.

2. Why do the supermarkets sell pasteurised and homogenised milk? Is it something to do with shelf life?

It is nothing to do with shelf life. If a supermarket sells milk, by law it must be pasteurised. The way the law is regarding raw milk, only the farmer himself can sell raw milk, so shops, supermarkets etc cannot sell it. Supermarkets can only sell pasteurised milk, most of which is also now homogenised. So it is more of a legal issue, than a shelf life issue. Homogenisation is not a legal requirement, more of a cosmetic one. Homogenisation has no effect on shelf life. For some reason, the big retailers think the consumer does not want to see a cream line, and the cream at the top of the milk bottle. Therefore they want the bulk of the milk they sell to have no cream line, and it is homogenised. This process physically smashes the fat globules into tiny globules that cannot ever settle out and rise to the top. They just remain in even suspension throughout the milk. It has been my experience that hygienically produced raw milk has a longer life than pasteurised.

3. Are there any health benefits to drinking pasteurised and homogenised milk? Or is the milk 'dead'?

I don't really like to knock an industry that I am part of as a milk producer. There are benefits to drinking pasteurised milk, such as calcium. But it has nowhere near the same number of benefits that raw milk offers. Raw milk has all the benefits of pasteurised milk, plus:

i) The protein is not denatured (physically altered in shape) as is the case once pasteurised (heat treated), and is therefore fully available and metabolisable by the body

ii) Cholesterol is not heat treated and remains in its natural state as good cholesterol that the body can metabolise and use. Once milk cholesterol is heat treated, it is altered into a form the body cannot deal with, so the body produces more of it's own cholesterol to deal with this 'bad' cholesterol. It has been shown in the U.S. that raw milk lowers blood cholesterol, whereas pasteurised milk increases blood cholesterol.

iii) All the good bacteria are still present and help with gut action and digestion. It is also possible that these good bacteria also help fight bacteria infection within the body

iv) All the enzymes in raw milk are still present. Some people are lactose intolerant, which means they cannot digest lactose milk sugar as they themselves do not produce lactase enzyme. This is the enzyme needed to help digest lactose sugar. Raw milk contains lactase and therefore helps digest lactose, and deal with that intolerance. Lactase is just one enzyme found in raw milk, there are others too! All these wonderful enzymes are killed by pasteurisation.

v) It has been shown that raw milk helps to fight eczema, hayfever, allergies and asthma. On our own milk round, we have customers that have our milk to get rid of their eczema. Since having our milk, their eczema has either improved or disappeared!

There are more benefits, but in conclusion, I would say that there are far more benefits to drinking raw milk. A study by GSCE students for the BBC programme Countryfile about three years ago was interesting. Three petri dishes were prepared, one with UHT milk, one pasteurised and one raw milk, and left open to the atmosphere. Nothing grew on the UHT sample, it could not support life. Only good bacteria grew on the raw sample, and only bad bacteria grew on the pasteurised one. Why? Well, in the pasteurised sample, the good bacteria once in it, were now all dead, leaving a good substrate ripe for invasion by whatever bacteria were around in the atomosphere, whereas with the raw sample, the good bacteria still in the milk repelled any bacteria that tried to invade! That is fantastic!

I would say that drinking homogenised milk is potentially HARMFUL! Remember, it is only done for cosmetic reasons. The organic movement would like to see this process banned. Firstly, some believe that the smashed up globules of fat become so small by this process, that they are passing straight into peoples bloodstreams, and that is what is clogging blood vessels up. Secondly, a globule of fat is coated in protein. In its natural state and size, the ratio of fat to protein is as nature intended, and is fine for us. However once the fat is smashed into tiny globules they are still coated with protein, but now the ratio of fat to protein is altered as the protein element is now a bigger proportion in that ratio. Some believe that this alteration with there being excess protein is also causing metabolic problems for people.

4. Do you agee with putting the health warning or do you think the govt. are trying to scare people away from buying raw milk?

I think that some people are 'scared off' by the government warning, and some people think the government warning is way over the top.
I do think it is slightly over the top. However, I am pleased to have it, if it is part of the legislation that allows producers like me able to become licensed to sell raw milk. In terms of risk, there is risk in everything. For example, can you be certain that pasteurised milk does not become contaminated AFTER the pasteurisation process? I think the Food Standards Agency (FSA) are spot on with the current system of approving a milk producer like me to sell raw milk. In order for me to sell raw milk, our milk must pass three consecutive bactoscan tests, and three strict coliform tests, as well as regular unnannouced dairy inspections by the Dairy Hygiene Inspectorate. Once we have passed these, then we can sell raw milk. The unnannounced dairy inspections continue once we are selling raw milk, as does an unnannounced milk sampler who takes samples of our milk which must pass the bactoscan and coliform tests on an ongoing basis. I completely agree with this system, as it eliminates risk of raw milk being produced unhygienically, and protects you the consumer. I fear that if raw milk was banned, that raw milk sales would go 'underground' (there is such a strong un-stoppable demand for it), and the consumer would not have these protection systems in place, and be exposed to far more risk.

5. How soon should you drink/finish the raw milk in?

If kept cold, you should not notice any change in taste in the first five to seven days, although it may pick up taints from the fridge, if not sealed. When raw milk starts to turn, it will have a slightly, cheesy, and/or sour taste. This is a change in taste. The milk is still fine, and can be used in cooking.