Science blog posts

Two federal surveillance studies spanning two decades show raw milk outbreaks get traced to a single farm within days, while most produce outbreaks never are.

US population data shows raw milk’s risk is lower than several common foods, while public health authorities consistently recommend against it.

A component-by-component reference for what pasteurization measurably changes in milk, and what it doesn’t, drawing on 14 separately researched findings.

Lactic acid bacteria in soured raw milk measurably inhibit major pathogens in lab testing, but the effect has real, documented limits.

An IgM-lipoprotein complex clusters fat globules together in cold raw milk, accelerating creaming well beyond what density alone would predict.

Refrigerating milk causes one of its four major casein proteins to leave its normal structure entirely, a reversible effect documented since 1977.

In some cows’ milk, simply cooling it after milking is enough to trigger rancidity, no bacteria or physical damage required.

Freezing raw milk causes real structural damage from ice crystals, and how you freeze and thaw it changes how much. Here is what the research documents.

Refrigeration favors a specific category of bacteria whose enzymes often survive pasteurization and even UHT heat completely intact.

Unfortified milk contains too little vitamin D to matter nutritionally, and fortification, not pasteurization, supplies almost all of what is on the label.

The milk fat globule membrane’s own proteins respond to heat unevenly: some resist modification, one shows stabilization, and processing can add proteins in.

Between alkaline phosphatase and lactoperoxidase sits GGT, a milk enzyme whose heat sensitivity distinguishes specific pasteurization intensities.