Pediatricians renew call to ban raw milk sales as outbreaks rise and H5N1 emerges as new risk

The nation's largest professional group of pediatricians has renewed its push for a nationwide ban on unpasteurized milk, cautioning that raw dairy now carries a danger beyond the well-known bacterial hazards: highly pathogenic avian influenza, or H5N1, which studies indicate can accumulate in raw milk at high concentrations and remain detectable in refrigerated samples for as long as five weeks.

The American Academy of Pediatrics published the updated policy statement in the November 2026 issue of Pediatrics, reaffirming a position first staked in 2014 and reaffirmed in 2025, but now backed by fresh epidemiological data and a specific warning about H5N1. During the 2024 U.S. dairy outbreak, the AAP reported that live H5N1 virus turned up in roughly one in four raw milk samples collected from affected areas. The academy has characterized the virus as a credible, emerging threat, even though no human H5N1 infections tied to raw milk consumption have been confirmed so far.

Nearly half of illnesses caused by raw dairy consumption occur in people under age 20. These illnesses can be severe and lead to life-threatening complications.— Dr. Adam Ratner, lead author of the AAP policy statement and pediatric infectious disease doctor

The timing of the statement is not incidental. Raw milk has moved from the fringes of health-food culture into a widespread consumer movement: sales rose 17.6% in 2024 alone, according to market research firm Circana, and more than 10 million Americans now drink it, according to ProPublica. The growth has been fueled by social media influencers, wellness trends, and deep skepticism of government regulators — a skepticism that accelerated, producers say, during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. amplified that skepticism before and after taking office. Before assuming office, he told an audience from the stage that "the FDA's war on public health is about to end," including what he called its "aggressive suppression" of raw milk. After being sworn in, he joined Dr. Paul Saladino — a psychiatrist and author of The Carnivore Code — in drinking a shot of raw milk, and declared he was "advocating" for the product, celebrating the release of a Make America Healthy Again report with raw-milk shooters in the White House. The Trump administration has since shifted to promoting whole milk instead, and the Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to ProPublica's questions about the new AAP guidance or the call for a ban.

More and more people are discussing this as a potentially healthful thing to do, when in fact it's a highly risky thing to do. So our responsibility, as the leading voice of pediatric healthcare in the United States that's dedicated to the health and well-being of children, is to make sure that the accurate, evidence-based information is out there.— Dr. Andrew Racine, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics

The AAP's statement is unambiguous on the science: claims that raw milk reduces lactose issues, cures allergies, or boosts immunity are not supported by evidence, a position shared by the FDA. A 2011 paper in the Clinical & Experimental Allergy journal is often held up by advocates as evidence that "consumption of farm milk may offer protection against asthma and allergy" — yet the FDA points out that roughly half the farm milk examined in that study had been boiled, and the authors themselves acknowledged they were unable to assess the difference between pasteurized and raw milk, concluding: "At this stage, consumption of raw farm milk cannot be recommended as a preventive measure."

The known bacterial risks are well-documented. Raw milk carries Listeria, Salmonella, Campylobacter, Brucella, and E. coli, the AAP says. These pathogens can cause hospitalization and death, and raw milk subjects consumers to over 100 times the risk of foodborne illness compared with pasteurized milk, according to ProPublica. Children are particularly vulnerable: Dr. Brian Dawes, an infectious disease specialist at Stanford University, said children "have weaker immune systems, less overall physiological reserves, so when they get these infections, they tend to get much sicker." Among pregnant people, the listeriosis risk is estimated at 12 to 14 times that of the general population, with potential consequences that include miscarriage, stillbirth, and severe illness in newborns.

Recent outbreaks have made the stakes concrete. According to National Public Radio, more than 100 people fell ill and 11 required hospitalization after drinking raw milk this past summer. Raw Farm, described as the country's largest raw milk distributor, was linked to an E. coli outbreak this year spanning California, Florida, and Texas, with most of those sickened being children three years old or younger. Just last month, federal regulators linked a separate E. coli outbreak to unpasteurized cheese: 13 people fell ill, more than half of them young children, according to ProPublica. Regulators have tied raw dairy to outbreaks in nine states over the past two years.

Two girls who were severely sickened after drinking raw goat milk from an unregulated farm in southern California were at the center of prior ProPublica reporting that academy members said they read and shared while drafting the statement. Rather than conducting its own sampling of the farmer's property, the state permitted the farmer to submit her own sample for testing several weeks after the outbreak had begun. Speaking to ProPublica, the farmer denied that her milk was responsible and asserted that the families had purchased it knowing it was not meant for human consumption — a claim the families dispute.

This product is being marketed to families as being beneficial for their kids. They don't see the risks, and unwittingly they end up making a decision that is much more dangerous.— Dr. Adam Ratner, lead author of the AAP policy statement

The legal landscape is fragmented. The FDA banned interstate sale and distribution of raw milk in 1987, but states set their own rules for in-state sales. At least 27 states permit raw milk products to be sold through retail stores, directly from farms, or even under a "pet food" label, and supporters have pressed in recent years to widen that access further.

Ben Beichler, who runs Creambrook Farm in Virginia with his wife and milks 150 cows, sells raw milk legally through a 'herd share' arrangement that lets consumers buy a share of a cow. He describes the pandemic as a 'massive gamechanger' for his business and says sales have grown 30% to 50% annually since 2020. He tests every batch at an on-farm laboratory and sends samples to a third-party lab, and he acknowledges that 'the consumer has to be judicious' about where they source raw milk.

For better or worse, I think there is a skepticism in society that didn't exist pre-Covid, and people are willing to question things more than they used to. So that has made people question a lot of their dietary needs. I'm not necessarily saying that skepticism has been a good thing.— Ben Beichler, co-owner, Creambrook Farm

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, a Connecticut Democrat who chairs the Congressional Food Safety Caucus, told ProPublica that she is taking the AAP's guidance "very seriously" and that she is "supportive of any policy that reduces risk of exposure to harmful foods," including warning labels on raw-milk products and sustained funding for outbreak prevention and tracking. A federal ban, however, remains far from certain: the AAP's 2014 call produced no such legislation, and the current administration has shown no appetite for restricting the product.

Parents may choose raw milk because they have heard it is healthier or more natural, but the scientific evidence tells a different story. Pasteurized dairy products provide the same essential nutrients without exposing children and families to preventable infections from dangerous bacteria and viruses. For infants, children and pregnant people, pasteurized dairy products are clearly the safest choice.— Dr. Mark R. Corkins, coauthor of the AAP policy statement

Dawes, the Stanford infectious disease specialist, said the deeper challenge is cultural as much as regulatory, noting that public health leaders "have our work cut out for us to really regain public trust in the systems that have worked for milk for over 100 years, keeping people safe."

Why it matters — With raw milk sales surging, outbreaks multiplying, and a new H5N1 risk now documented in unpasteurized dairy, the AAP's renewed push for a ban puts the federal government — which has shown no sign of acting — on the spot over a product that disproportionately sickens young children.

Sources differ on Whether raw goat milk from a southern California farm caused illness in two girls: Regulators linked the outbreak to the farm's milk; the families say they did not knowingly buy milk labeled as not for human consumption. (propublica.org) vs The farmer told ProPublica her milk tested negative for pathogens and did not cause the outbreak, and claimed the families knowingly bought milk not intended for human consumption. (propublica.org)

Reported by theguardian.com, propublica.org, contemporarypediatrics.com, yahoo.com