Across the United States, raw milk laws vary widely. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration reports that about 30 states allow some form of raw milk sales, usually limited to direct, on-farm transactions rather than in stores. And 20 states prohibit raw milk sales altogether. Federal law also bans the interstate sale of raw milk, also known as unpasteurized milk, for human consumption, so it cannot legally cross state lines regardless of state policy.
Currently in Michigan, law does not allow the direct sale of raw milk to consumers. People who want raw milk typically use herd-share agreements, where a consumer buys a share of an animal and receives its milk. A package of bills introduced in the current legislative session would change state law to allow farm-to-consumer sales of raw milk under specific safety and labeling rules. Those bills have advanced out of committee and are pending further action in the Legislature, but they have not yet passed both chambers or been signed by the governor. Until that happens, direct raw milk sales remain prohibited in Michigan.
Pamela Ruegg, the David J. Ellis Chair in Antimicrobial Resistance in the Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine and director of Top Milk, the Antimicrobial Stewardship and Dairy Health Management Laboratory, explains the controversy over raw milk.
What is raw milk?
Raw milk refers to milk that has not been pasteurized before it is consumed. It is often milk that is produced on a farm and sold directly to consumers without any processing.
How is raw milk different from pasteurized milk?
Milk is a great source of nutrients for humans and also contains many nutrients that allow bacteria to rapidly grow. While farmers work very hard to keep cows healthy and ensure a hygienic milking process, cows are animals that live on farms and some contamination of the milk during the milking process is inevitable. The bacteria that contaminate milk are often from the environment or manure of the cows and some tanks contain bacteria that can cause diseases in humans. This has been known for decades, and Michigan was the first state to require that all milk sold to consumers must be pasteurized. Pasteurizing is simply the process of briefly heating the milk to kill potentially harmful bacteria. Studies have shown that the nutritional qualities of pasteurized milk are not meaningfully different than that of raw milk.
Is raw milk safe to drink?
No. While most tanks of milk produced on dairy farms do not contain harmful bacteria, studies have shown that about 3%–10% of raw milk tanks contain very dangerous pathogens. The difficulty is that it is not possible to predict which tanks of milk have these bacteria in them, so it’s a bit like playing with fire.
Why do health officials warn against drinking raw milk?
Health officials are concerned about serious illnesses that are entirely preventable and they are especially concerned about protecting vulnerable people. While some bacteria typically found in milk aren’t harmful, some of them can have devastating disease outcomes. The most dangerous pathogens found in raw milk are Campylobacter, which can cause a dangerous paralytic disease called Guillain-Barré syndrome; Listeria spp, which can cause miscarriages or death in neonates; Salmonella spp, which causes a variety of syndromes; and Shiga toxin–producing E. coli, which can result in kidney failure.
Who is most at risk from drinking raw milk?
Some healthy people who consume raw milk that contains dangerous human pathogens may have immune systems that can successfully handle that challenge. In those instances, the person may just feel a little off or have mild to moderate digestive upsets. However, the immune system of many children and elderly and immunocompromised individuals is frequently unable to respond effectively to the infections, and these individuals are at the highest risk of the devastating health outcomes that are known to be caused by the bacterial contaminants found in some tanks of raw milk.
Why has raw milk been in the news recently?
The biggest reason is that there have been frequent documented outbreaks of diseases caused by raw milk consumption. For example, in 2023–24, a single outbreak of Salmonella typhimurium caused by consumption of raw milk and raw milk cheese produced by a California dairy resulted in at least 171 documented illnesses, most of which occurred in children. In 2024, there were at least 4 well-documented outbreaks in several states caused by consumption of raw whole milk and some raw milk cheeses. These and other outbreaks — documented by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — reinforce the unpredictable risks associated with consumption of raw milk.
Are there real health benefits to drinking raw milk?
No, researchers have not documented health benefits related to consuming raw milk. If someone drinks raw milk and starts to feel sick, they should immediately contact their health care provider.
