Connecticut Considering Tougher Regulations on Retail Raw Milk
Last summer, an E. coli outbreak linked to raw milk produced at a Simsbury, Connecticut dairy sickened 7 people, two of them toddlers who developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a life-threatening illness that causes kidney failure.
In response, the Connecticut General Assembly is considering legislation that puts a few more restrictions on the sale of raw milk:
- Raw milk would only be able to be “sold or offered for sale, transferred, exchanged or bartered only on the premises where the retail raw milk was produced” (Sec. 1 (h)).
- Sellers of raw milk would be required to prominently display the following warning on each container of retail raw milk: "Warning: Raw milk has not been pasteurized and may contain harmful bacteria. Pregnant women, children, the elderly and persons with lowered resistance to disease have the highest risk of serious illness from use of this product" (Sec. 1 (f)).
- The warning would have to be posted “in plain view” by the retail raw milk that is being offered for sale.
- Retail raw milk producers would be required to test and have analyzed retail raw milk and all animals that produce the raw milk.
Raw milk advocates oppose the legislation. One state representative told The New York Times:
“The Department of Agriculture seems absolutely bent on putting the raw milk farmers out of business,” said Representative Diana Urban, Democrat from Stonington, environment committee member and a lifelong raw milk drinker. “I do understand,” she said referring to the health concerns, “but I believe we have adequate safeguards in place.”
There were not “adequate safeguards” to protect seven people from getting sick last summer after drinking raw milk produced in Connecticut.
Two mothers whose children were sickened in the outbreak are campaigning for stricter legislation, according to The New York Times:
Erin Barringer of West Hartford, whose daughter contracted E. coli from a child who drank raw milk, according to health officials, is helping to campaign for the stricter legislation. “It can be frustrating at times because I think everybody’s lost sight of who the victims are,” said Ms. Barringer, whose daughter, Emma, was 2 years and 10 months old when she got sick, even though she herself never drank raw milk.
Ms. Barringer believes raw milk poses a public health threat and has solicited support from national organizations like the Center for Science in the Public Interest, which sent a letter backing the legislation. . . .
Kim Piccioli, of West Hartford, who said her son drank raw milk from the Simsbury dairy, said doctors told her that he may have permanent kidney damage. She said that she had not been aware of the dangers of raw milk and that the milk she bought did not have its required health warning label.
“No one’s taking it away,” she said. “We’re just putting some limitations on it.”
The Food and Drug Administration has been educating the public about the dangers of raw milk for years:
Drinking raw (untreated) milk or eating raw milk products is "like playing Russian roulette with your health," says John Sheehan, director of the Food and Drug Administration's Division of Dairy and Egg Safety. "We see a number of cases of foodborne illness every year related to the consumption of raw milk."
People with weakened immune systems, such as elderly people, children, and those with certain diseases or conditions, are most at risk for severe infections from pathogens that may be present in raw milk. In pregnant women, Listeria monocytogenes-caused illness can result in miscarriage, fetal death, or illness or death of a newborn infant. And Escherichia coli infection has been linked to hemolytic uremic syndrome, a condition that can cause kidney failure and death.
We welcome your comments. Do you think the sale of raw milk should be regulated? Do you think the sale of raw milk should be banned?
