Nutritional aspects of raw milk: A beneficial or hazardous food choice

Liquid milk is a highly nutritious beverage which has seen a decline in consumption in recent years. Milk is an excellent source of dietary fats, proteins, and minerals such as calcium and magnesium, particularly for growing children. There is an ongoing debate on the potential benefits associated with the consumption of raw milk over its processed counterpart. Physiological and environmental factors can affect the composition and quality of milk and cows feeding system has been identified as an important factor which can alter milks nutritional status. Pasture-based feeding systems have been shown to produce milks with significantly higher conjugated linoleic acid and omega 3 fatty acid contents over more conventional indoor total mixed ration feeding systems. However, the consumption of raw milk poses a very real and serious health risk, through potential ingestion of pathogenic bacteria. The argument against treated milk has focused on the depletion of milks nutritional quality as a result of heat during processing, but these claims have been found to have no scientific basis. Nevertheless, it is widely agreed upon by experts that the risk of exposure to pathogenic bacteria in raw milk far outweighs such potential benefits.