Wellness Influencers Swear By Raw Milk – So Why Do Experts Say Never To Drink It?

Drinking animal milk is pretty wild when you think about it – not only did a human have to look at an udder and think, “I need in on that,” but we also started drinking the stuff before our bodies were even able to digest it. 

Nonetheless, dairy has been in our diets for thousands of years. 

And for much of that time, the milk we drank was “raw” – which basically means unpasteurised.

Pasteurisation, originally invented by French scientist Louis Pasteur in the 1860s, was originally used for wine and beer. It wasn’t until 1886 that agricultural chemist Frans von Soxhlet suggested using the germ-killing heat treatment on milk, too.

But though the process has saved millions of lives, some, like food writer (and son of the Queen) Tom Parker-Bowles argue that raw milk is the only one which offers the “full complement of vitamins, minerals and natural digestive enzymes, as well as providing the most lusciously creamy mouthful of pure dairy delight”.

TikTokers have also claimed raw milk is good for your gut as it contains more bacteria.

So, we thought we’d ask Bryan Quoc Le, a food scientist, founder of Mendocino Food Consulting, and author of the book 150 Food Science Questions Answered, for his thoughts on the unprocessed drink.

What is pasteurisation? 

The process is simple: in the UK, it involves heating milk to 71.7°C for at least 15 seconds, but no longer than 25 seconds. 

After that, it’s rapidly cooled to -3°C. 

This timing can change across countries, but the science stays the same: a quick blast of heat kills off dangerous bacteria, like Salmonella, E. coli, listeria and Campylobacter. 

Is raw milk unsafe?

The Food Standards Agency advises that raw or unpasteurised drinking milk and cream “may contain harmful bacteria that can cause food poisoning”.

As a result, it stresses that people with a weaker immune system should not consume it. These include: 

• those aged 65 or over
• pregnant women
• infants and small children
• people with a compromised immune system such as cancer patients.

“Raw milk contains a high concentration of foodborne pathogens because the cow udders and surrounding environment are not sterile,” Le told us.

“Many of these pathogens are potentially crippling or lethal, especially for individuals with weak immune systems such as children, the elderly, or the immunocompromised.” 

Between 1992-2002, there were 19 raw milk-related intestinal infectious disease outbreaks in the UK, affecting 229 people and hospitalising 36. 

Then followed an 11-year absence of any similar illnesses, but from 2014-2017, seven outbreaks were recorded, including 114 cases, five reported hospitalisations, and one death. 

From 1912-1937, about 65,000 people in England and Wales died from tuberculosis of bovine sources, which can spread through the consumption of raw milk.

“The pasteurisation process applies a quick heating step that decreases the number of bacteria in the milk by 10,000 times or more,” Le explained.

“This ensures that the pathogens do not have the numbers to cause infection.”

Is raw milk better for your gut?

Though certain strains of bacteria are good for your gut health, and while raw milk does contain more bacteria (including dangerous ones that can make you very sick), that doesn’t necessarily mean raw milk is better for your gut. 

“Bacteria found in raw milk are not probiotic,” the Food and Drug Administration explains. “High bacteria counts in raw milk only indicate poor animal health and poor farm hygiene.”

Selling raw milk is illegal in Scotland, but legal in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The FSA notes that people who want to buy it should do so from either: registered raw drinking milk production farms, farmers at registered farmers’ markets or distributors providing a milk round.