Food Safety Concerns Regarding the Consumption and Sale of Unpasteurized Milk in Ireland

Introduction: Many families who live on farms in rural Ireland still consume, and in some cases sell, unpasteurized (raw) milk for direct human consumption. The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI), a statutory, independent and science-based body with the responsibility for coordinating the enforcement of food safety legislation in Ireland, opposes the sale of unpasteurized milk from all farm animals for direct human consumption. In response the Irish Department of Agriculture is planning to introduce legislation which may prohibit or impose further restrictions on the sale of unpasteurized milk for direct human consumption in Ireland.

Purpose: To support this policy decision opposing the sale of unpasteurized milk from all farm animals for direct human consumption in Ireland.

Methods: A total of 600 samples of unpasteurized bulk tank milk and corresponding milk filters were collected nationally from 211 dairy farms between June 2012 and June 2013 and tested for a range of pathogens using internationally recognized ISO methods.

Results: Approximately 45% (86/190) of milk filters tested positive for one of four foodborne pathogens (Salmonella spp., verocytotoxin producing Escherichia coli (VTEC), Listeria monocytogenes and Campylobacter spp.). In the unpasteurized milk samples 7% (15/208), 1.5% (3/200) and 0.5% (1/206) of samples tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes, Campylobacter spp. and Salmonella spp., respectively. There was no correlation between herd size, herd species, or season and the detection of pathogens in samples tested.

Significance: Based on these findings, the FSAI continues to recommend that the sale of unpasteurized milk for direct human consumption should be prohibited in Ireland and that farm families that drink milk produced on their own farm should pasteurize it before drinking.