Raw Milk Debate is Misleading Consumers and Putting Lives at Risk
CANADA - Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) and a coalition of concerned partners, continued today to express its deep apprehension over misleading, and potentially harmful, statements in support of the sale of raw milk.
8 December 2006
2 minute read
"Make no mistake, drinking raw, unpasteurized milk is a health risk," said Bruce Saunders, Chair, DFO. "It is pure myth that raw milk offers any health advantages. What it offers is the potential to contract diseases that can be present in raw milk."
"We are strongly encouraged by Premier Dalton McGuinty and Health Minister George Smitherman's unequivocal support for the pasteurization of milk and cracking down on illegal raw milk processors such as Michael Schmidt," said Mr. Saunders. "Unfortunately, the issue may have gained unwarranted credibility through the misguided attempt by Grey-Bruce MPP Bill Murdoch to hold all-party hearings into this issue. The scientific evidence of the risks posed by unpasteurized milk is unquestionable - no review is necessary"
Pasteurization of milk became a requirement in Ontario in 1938, thanks to years of tireless efforts of the founders of the Federated Women's Institutes of Ontario (FWIO).
"It is simply unconscionable that this debate - with all of the overwhelming health and medical research about the inherent danger of drinking raw milk - could be going on in this day and age," said Rosemary Moran, President, FWIO. "Our number one priority since our founding over 100 years ago is the health and safety of mothers and children and the pasteurization of milk is just as critical today as it was then. To put it in the strongest possible terms, raw milk is dangerous and its illegal sale is a clear threat to people's health."
Dr. Murray McQuigge, the Medical Officer of Health for the Grey Bruce Health Unit during the Walkerton crisis, says the public must understand the risks.
Source: CNW Group
