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Anti-Raw Milk Symposium
February 17, 2009, Arlington, Virginia
Dear Members,
Several of us from WAPF and active in the raw milk movement will be
attending a
meeting put on by the International Association for Food Protection,
including
myself, my husband Geoffrey Morell, Tim Boyd from the WAPF office and
Canadian raw milk hero Michael Schmidt. The title of the meeting is
"Raw Milk Consumption: An Emerging Public Health Threat?"
and the main speaker will be John Sheehan of the FDA. (See our response
to Mr. Sheehan at
realmilk.com/documents/SheehanPowerPointResponse.pdf.)
We are sending this announcement to our members in DC, Virginia, Maryland
and
Pennsylvania in case any of you would like to attend. The fee is expensive-almost
$500-and there is no guarantee that any of you will get time at a microphone,
but if you have a compelling story to tell, you might want to attend
for the chance to speak to participants personally.
If you decide to attend, please let us know at
. Details for the meeting are given below.
Sincerely yours,
Sally Fallon Morell
Member rates $425; non-member $495; Membership is $50
http://www.foodprotection.org/meetingsEducation/TimelyTopics09.asp
IAFP Presents
Raw Milk Consumption:
An Emerging Public Health Threat?
February 17, 2009
8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
DoubleTree Hotel Crystal City
300 Army Navy Drive
Arlington, Virginia
This one-day symposium will explore the scientific risk and public health
issues
related to the human consumption of raw milk in the developed world.
The
presentations and panels are targeted at food safety professionals,
state and federal regulators, Congressional and state legislative staffers,
and anyone with an interest in improving the safety of the food supply.
Subjects addressed will include current illness and outbreak data, dairy
industry food safety practices, health claims related to raw milk consumption,
legal and regulatory challenges as well as consumer perceptions.
The dangers of raw milk consumption can be documented to the early
1900s; in some parts of the U.S. and Europe one out of every two babies
died from consuming raw milk contaminated with human pathogenic microorganisms.
Slowly, cities, counties, and eventually states adopted laws and regulations
prohibiting the sale of raw milk for direct human consumption. A federal
regulation (21 CFR 1240.61) that prohibited the interstate sale of raw
milk for direct human consumption was adopted in 1987. As a result of
pasteurization, the prevalence of food borne illness associated with
dairy products has been reduced to less than 1 percent of total outbreaks,
although a very large percentage of the population consumes these products.
However, raw milk sales for direct human consumption are allowed in
28 states, with the number growing each year due to legislative pressures
from raw milk advocates. The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) noted that from 1998 to May of 2005, there were
45 outbreaks that implicated unpasteurized milk, or cheese made from
unpasteurized milk. These outbreaks accounted for 1,007 illnesses, 104
hospitalizations, and two deaths. Recent research investigations have
shown that raw milk may contain a diverse array of pathogenic microorganisms
(e.g. Listeria, Salmonella, Yersinia, Mycobacterium, Campylobacter,
E. coli O157:H7, and others).
Advocates for raw milk consumption use messages such as a "consumer's
right to
choose", "natures best food with miracle properties that prevent
or cure many
diseases", and "can be produced safely from healthy animals"
to promote their
product as more healthful than pasteurized milk. In addition, raw milk
advocates
suggest that raw milk consumption is safe due to the perceived presence
of active natural antimicrobial agents in raw milk.
The Symposium will include a luncheon and refreshment breaks that provide
an
opportunity for networking. Make plans to participate in this important
scientific
meeting.
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