OVER, Del. – The mood in the Delaware General Assembly chamber was jovial last Thursday night as lawmakers considered legislation to legalize the sale of raw milk. There were udder puns and moo sounds.
A Democratic member took the floor to ask whether the Ol’ Dirty Bastard lyrics “Ooh, baby, I like it raw” were written about the bill. And there was a standing ovation when, after eight minutes of debate, it passed 39-2. You wouldn’t have known that raw, unpasteurized milk has exposed people to dangerous salmonella, listeria and E.
coli bacteria — or that scientists are increasingly concerned that the H5N1 bird flu virus could be transmitted to humans through the product. It never came up. Bird flu from raw milk is “not a concern at all,” Republican Rep.
Michael Smith, the lead sponsor of the bill, told STAT before the vote. While there have not been confirmed human cases of bird flu transmission as a result of raw milk consumption, studies have shown that animals that drank unpasteurized milk infected with the bird flu virus become gravely ill. Last month, the Food and Drug Administration urged state health officials to “use regulatory authorities or implement other measures, as appropriate, to stop the sale of raw milk that may present a risk to consumers.
” “You would think that [the bird flu outbreak] might slow things down a little bit and maybe at least encourage legislatures to wait and see what happens with H5N1,” said Marcus Plescia, the chief med.
