The organic farm whose cosmetic, unpasteurised milk has been associated with the death of a toddler previously mocked the US food authority for labelling unpasteurised milk as unsafe.
A three-year-old child from the Mornington Peninsula died after consuming unpasteurised Mountain View Organic Bath Milk, which is labelled “not for human consumption” and “for cosmetic purposes only”.
Four other children are seriously ill after also drinking unpasteurised cosmetic milk, though which brands they consumed is unknown.
The owner of Mountain View, Vicki Jones, told Guardian Australia on Thursday that what consumers did with the product once they got home was up to them.
A photo shared by the Facebook page of the business on 20 November implies the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorises the use of harmful substances while wrongly demonising raw milk.
On one side of the image under the heading “FDA says safe” is a long list of substances and practices, including MSG, radiation and fungicides, while on the other side, under the heading “FDA says unsafe”, is simply “Fresh milk”.
Pasteurising fresh milk kills deadly pathogens, and has been a requirement in Australia for milk sold for consumption since the 1940s. Health authorities around the world warn unpasteurised milk should never be consumed..
Jones defended using the image on her Facebook page, saying she questioned many substances in foods, and the FDA should do the same.
Asked whether the image was misleading because of what it implied about raw milk, Jones said: “Maybe the FDA need to revisit the use of chemicals in food.
“I question the use of some chemicals used in food production and the effect it has on children.”
Jones said people often asked her if they could drink the milk she sold, but she always said no.
Some people took to the Mountain View Facebook page to criticise the company following news of the child’s death. “Where is the warning that you claim is on your Facebook page against drinking raw milk,” one person wrote.
Others defended the company, describing the media coverage as a “witch-hunt”.
An article in Time Out from November last year described a deal in which consumers could receive one litre of pure bath milk from Mountain View each week.
“We need to put a disclaimer here that according to the food safety board, bath milk, which is unpasteurised and unhomogenised is not for human consumption,” the article said.
Despite the recent death and illnesses, and warnings from medical professionals, some parents discussing the issue on online forums were unwilling to believe unpasteurised milk was potentially deadly.
One parent wrote: “Sucking in the teat of an actual animal is safe as far as contamination goes. It gets complicated once it leaves the animal in any sort of container, that’s when contamination can start.”
In fact milk can become contaminated as soon as it touches the teat, which is located close to the animal’s bowel and is often in contact with faeces.
Another parent wrote, apparently without irony: “It is commonly known that ‘bath milk – not for human consumption’ is just pesky red tape by a nanny state government that cares not a whit for the health of the people.”
The Victorian health department website states unpasteurised milk increases the risk of contracting gastrointestinal illness because it can contain pathogens such as Campylobacter, Cryptosporidium, shiga toxin-producing E. coli and Listeria.
Do you know more? Email melissa.davey@theguardian.com