Raw milk and avoiding getting sick

[momofelise]

A couple years ago, I got into raw milk, but unfortunately I had a bad experience. I was fine with it for a few months, but I drank some that tasted a little funny and then got food poisoning where I was sick for around a week (vomited non-stop for at least 24 hours). My honest thought is that raw milk is wonderful, but special care does need to be taken. I wish that I lived in California and could get regulated raw milk. It's not legally distributed here in Florida. It's truly a shame that the quality of raw milk found in California can't be available nationwide. But anyway... the point is that I'm afraid to drink raw milk again. I'm expecting to receive some kefir grains soon, and while I do have access to non-homogenized pasteurized milk, I kind of wish I could use the kefir grains in raw milk. So my question is would the kefir process make the raw milk safe for sure? Or should I just stick with the pasteurized milk (not ultra-pasteurized). And if I do the pasteurized milk, will I still get the same benefits from the kefir as with raw milk?

I don't know if anyone knows the answer to this, but I thought this would be one of the few places where someone might!

[ursusarctos]

I think that fermenting milk will make it safer and last longer... just based on what I know of lactic acid fermentation (this is the same process, right?). The acidity of the fermented milk will kill/inhibit any nasty bacteria. I'm not totally sure about this but I would think it would be the case.
Fermenting pasteurized milk does make it better but I think raw milk would probably still be best.

[almama]

I hope you get your answer!! I *highly* suggest that if you are considering raw milk at all that you go to the farmer directly - inspect, inspect, inspect and ask a ton of questions. I would never buy raw milk from a place that I did not know inside and out.

We wash our own containers too, so that we know how clean our own bottles are.

[momofelise]

Thanks for the replies! I'll look into visiting the farm, and for now, I'll probably stick to the non-homogenized milk. It's too bad we don't have room for our own goat or cow!

[gardenmommy]

I think that how the cows are managed makes a great deal of difference in both the quality and safety of the milk. Confined, grain-fed cows are, IMO, not as healthy as pastured cows, which (again, IMO) makes them more susceptible to harmful bacteria. You can have a spotless dairy, but confined cattle are still going to have weaker systems than pastured cattle eating their natural, or close to natural, diet. Just the very fact that in a pastured situation, manure tends to be spread out, exposed to rain, sun, and birds makes a big difference. This is important, because most pathogens are spread through manure, and when the cow is confined, she is more likely to come into contact with contaminated manure. Pastured cows still have that possibility, of course, but because manure isn't as concentrated in one area, it is less likely to affect the cow. That is only one angle to consider. There are others, of course, but that is an important one to consider. Good luck!