FDA warns against drinking raw milk

By MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Food and Drug Administration has said it more than once, and they'll say it again: Don't drink raw milk.

The FDA says there are 12 confirmed cases of illness in Michigan after consumers drank raw milk from Forest Grove Dairy in Middlebury, Ind. According to the agency, raw milk may contain a wide variety of harmful bacteria - including salmonella, E. Coli and listeria - that can sicken and even kill people.

Raw milk has gained popularity with some who say pasteurization destroys nutrients. The FDA says that's not true, and there is no "meaningful nutritional difference" between pasteurized and raw milk.

The agency says there were a total of 1,614 reported illnesses, 187 hospitalizations and two deaths from consumption of raw milk between 1998 and 2008.