Concerns about possible transmission to people drinking unpasteurized milk are being talked about a lot. Apparently they fed mice unpasteurized milk, and they got the virus, but it seems like the temperature required to kill. The virus is higher than what they used to sterilize the milk. How is this safe?
In: Biology
In the U.S., most milk is pasteurized to 160F.
“The standard US protocol for flash pasteurization of milk, 71.7 °C (161 °F) for 15 seconds in order to kill Coxiella burnetii (the most heat-resistant pathogen found in raw milk), was introduced in 1933, and results in 5-log reduction (99.999%) or greater reduction in harmful bacteria.”
Most organic milk, and nearly all milk in Europe, is pasteurized at an even higher temperature.
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