Would you let your children drink raw milk from a farmers market?

[ilovehugs]

Good local farm. Sells lots of award-winning raw-milk products.
I let my kids try some today having heard that it is safer now there is better equipment/hygine.monitoring etc.
I just googled it to find out if it would help with my daughters chronic, post-surgical constipation and OMG - I am so worried now that it might make them really sick!!!
Am so worried - opinions please!!!

[JoleneJoleneJoleneJoleeene]

If they are older than about 2 with a healthy immune system.

[CMOTdibbler]

Yes, I would esp as brucellosis and tb testing is always done. I grew up drinking raw milk though

[fivegomadindorset]

Oh God yes, we did, nothing wrong with any of us.

[ilovehugs]

6 and nearly 4. No health problems other than chronic consitpation with the young one due to a congenital defect - hence trying the milk.

[thenightsky]

I am sure you don't need to worry. Risk is minimal given all the testing that goes on. I let DD eat camembert and brie in France when she was about 4.

[woowa]

I grew up on it and reckon it's brilliant for general immune health. It is meant to be much easier to digest and better for us in many ways than pasteurised, which was in vented when farm hygiene standards were WAY below what they are now. Raw milk (known in my parents' house as MILK!) is wonderful stuff! I even know a farm which sells it on the internet, it comes in the post!!

SO, yes, drink and be merry!

[MissTinaTeaspoon]

I grew up on it (my mum would milk the cow and we'd have the milk with breakfast ) and I'm fine . I'm sure they'll be fine!

[Choufleur]

Raw milk products - so cheese and yoghurt etc then. Or just drinking milk?

[Nyx]

Same here - 'raw' cow milk and also goats milk when I was a child

[ilovehugs]

Phew! I love mumsnet. I bought it from here and it looks like a good farm but they dont specialise in selling the milk though. www.lincolnshirepoachercheese.com.

[Itsjustafleshwound]

My DH grew up on it and lived to tell the tale. My DH's brother is a dairy farmer and there is nothing better than a glass of fresh milk ...

The milk will be fine ...

[DeWe]

I thought it was illegal to sell it, but I got this of Wikipedia.

Distribution of raw milk is illegal in Scotland. While it is legal in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, the only registered producers are in England.[13] About 200 producers sell raw, or "green top" milk direct to consumers, either at the farm, at a Farmers' market, or through a delivery service. The bottle must display the warning "this product has not been heat-treated and may contain organisms harmful to health", and the dairy must conform to higher hygiene standards than dairies producing only pasteurised milk.

As it is only legal to supply unpasteurised milk direct to consumers, it is illegal to be sold on the High Street, via shops or supermarkets.
I'd doubt it will help constipation (isn't dairy something to avoid with constipation?) but I doubt it'll cause any harm either.

[ilovehugs]

Thanks for the info DeWe - particularly the higher hygiene standards bit. I read/heard that it can be better for digestion because it is easier to digest and some of the bacteria, which is destroyed when it is pasturised, is also good for digestion. But, I hadn't really done enough research on it first which was why I was worried.

[ilovehugs]

Have read this now and am feeling lots better. www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2007/nov/22/foodanddrink.ethicalliving

[bibbitybobbityhat]

Nope

[ragged]

Yes, I grew up drinking raw milk; BUT, if it was first time from that source, I'd probably keep it to a small amount. Just to see if it agreed with DC.

[malinois]

I have a big pot of raw Jersey cream to go with desert tonight. Actually, I think I may just have it as desert on it's own :)

Raw milk, raw cream and cheese made from raw milk is just SOOOOOO good.

[ilovehugs]

It was gorgeous Malinois

[KenDoddsDadsDog]

I grew up on it too. I miss getting the cream off the top as a treat for cereal

[ilovehugs]

I grew up in the 80s and we used to get milk in bottles delivered to the door. Tht had cream separated on it KenD. Me and my brother used to fight over it for going on frosties! Do you think that could have been rawthen?

[SuePurblybilt]

I drank milk from our goats until I was very, very pregnant, when the doctor had a fit at me and in my hormonal paranoia, I listened to her. She was a loon (also told me not to eat eggs from our hens as 'shop eggs will be cleaner'). No problems at all and I would let DD drink raw milk, presuming I was confident in the farm, now.

[KenDoddsDadsDog]

Yes that was raw milk. It had a green top. Mmmmmm on Frosties!

[Ponders]

we used to buy raw milk from doorstep milkman when kids were small - tall bottle, with green top as KDDD says.

(there was also non-raw milk with cream at the top though - was silver top iirc)

[cambridgeferret]

By coincidence the FDA had a piece on their website about raw milk this week:

www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm263158.htm

I get the general impression that they're not over keen on raw milk.

BTW, I'm not expressing an opinion as I've never tried it.

[Lizcat]

Having worked as a vet to both UK and USA dairy farms I can understand why the FDA (an american organisation) has reservations on raw milk in the USA. The health standards of the UK dairy cattle in general are much much better than US dairy cattle. I would and do allow my DD to drink raw UK milk.