While some tout the benefits of raw milk, including U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., consuming it can come with significant risks. For example, 21 illnesses have recently been linked to raw milk in Florida.
According to a Monday press release from the Florida Department of Health, the 21 cases consist of Campylobacter and Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) infections linked to a particular farm. There have been six children under the age of 10 impacted and seven hospitalizations overall, with severe complications reported in two of the cases.
“STEC bacteria in its most severe form can result in hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) which is characterized by hemolysis and kidney failure, which is of particular concern for children,” said the health department. “Groups at higher risk for severe illness include infants and young children, pregnant women, elderly individuals, and those with weakened immune systems.”
Animal milk sold for human consumption is typically pasteurized, meaning it is heat-treated to destroy potentially harmful bacteria. Per the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, pasteurization does not impact the nutritional quality of milk. However, some claim that raw milk has a better taste and has protective effects for asthma and allergies.
Kennedy is one of those who has touted the benefits of raw milk consumption. He mentioned it in a tweet after President Donald Trump announced that he had appointed Kennedy to the HHS position.
“FDA’s war on public health is about to end. This includes its aggressive suppression of psychedelics, peptides, stem cells, raw milk, hyperbaric therapies, chelating compounds, ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine, vitamins, clean foods, sunshine, exercise, nutraceuticals and anything else that advances human health and can't be patented by Pharma,” said Kennedy.
POLITICO reported in December that Raw Farm is the raw milk brand favored by Kennedy and that, during his campaign for president last year, Kennedy’s running mate Nicole Shanahan asked company CEO Mark McAfee to serve as the administration’s “raw milk advisor.” The California Department of Public Health issued its latest voluntary recall against the company that month after batches of its raw milk products tested positive for bird flu, POLITICO added.
Around the same time, Audacy reported on a study published in the Environmental Science & Technology Letters journal that found flu virus remained detectable for days in raw, unpasteurized milk. That research focused on the persistence of influenza A virus H1N1 PR8 (IAV PR8). A press release from Stanford published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s Eurekalert about the research noted that more than 14 million Americans consume raw milk annually.
“It’s really a dangerous practice,” said Dr. Michael Osterholm, University of Minnesota director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy has said of the raw milk trend. “I’ve worked on far too many outbreaks of people severely ill from consuming raw milk and getting infected with any number of bacteria and viruses. So today we’d be concerned about people drinking this milk relative to the potential to become infected with this flu virus.”
In Florida, raw milk can actually only be sold for non-human consumption as pet or animal food, the health department noted. Due to this, there are limits on regulation efforts of sanitary practices but containers must have a label clearly stating that the raw milk is for animal consumption only.
“Sanitation practices in this farm are of particular concern due to the number of cases,” said the state’s health department.
This June, NBC reported that Kennedy had yet to relax federal rules regarding raw milk. It said that Kennedy hadn’t been in touch with McAfee since February, though ABC News reported last month that Kennedy did advocate for more dairy (not necessarily raw milk) in American diets. In the meantime, Kennedy has made moves regarding food dye and more controversial moves regarding vaccines.