An Annenberg Institute survey of 1,031 American adults has found the population does not know much about raw milk at the very time when that lack of knowledge could be putting people at risk. “Consuming raw milk or products made with it is riskier than drinking pasteurized milk. Yet fewer than half of U.
S. adults know that drinking raw milk is less safe than pasteurized milk, and many Americans do not understand the risks of consuming raw milk,” according to the Annenberg Public Policy Center’s latest health survey. And much of what the public does know about raw milk is just plain wrong.
The renewed interest in what the public does and does not know about raw milk comes as evidence shows that pasteurization of milk removes the risk of the Avian flu virus. This has raised interest in the level of public knowledge about raw milk. The Annenberg survey found that public health findings about raw milk have failed to reach the public consciousness of many population segments.
The survey found that 47 percent of U.S. adults know drinking raw milk is less safe than pasteurized milk.
In comparison, nearly a quarter (24 percent) of Americans either think incorrectly that pasteurization is not effective at killing bacteria and viruses in milk products (4 percent) or are not sure whether this is true (20 percent). Because many Americans don’t understand the health risks of drinking raw milk, public health is starting from scratch with its new message that only pasteurized milk i.
