Here is some news that will definitely stoke the debate over the safety of drinking unpasteurized milk. The number of raw milk drinkers that have fallen ill from tainted milk sold by one Pennsylvania farm has now hit at least 78 people in four states.

Earlier this month, that number was reported to be about 35 people, all of whom had consumed milk from the same farm in Chambersburg, PA, some time after January 1, 2012.

That farm temporarily shut down raw milk production in January after the outbreak had been identified. It restarted operations in early February after getting an OK from the PA Dept. of Agriculture. The farm now has an on-site lab to test milk every day before it gets to customers.

The Patriot-News of Harrisburg reports that 68 of those sickened were in Pennsylvania, five in Maryland, two in New Jersey and three in West Virginia. At least nine people were hospitalized.

The owner of one PA store that sells raw milk tells the Patriot-News that people should not be scared off from drinking the unpasteurized stuff.

“The people who know what they are talking about and know what they are buying are not afraid of it. People on the fringe, who don’t know about raw milk, can be terrorized by it,” he explains.

Recent illness outbreak from raw milk is Pennsylvania’s most severe [PennLive.com]

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