The American Academy of Pediatrics has renewed its push for a national ban on unpasteurized milk, citing rising outbreaks and a dangerous disconnect between wellness marketing and medical reality.
The small hospital room was supposed to be a place of healing. but for a California toddler last year. it became a battleground for survival. The child nearly died, one of two girls severely sickened after consuming raw goat milk from an unregulated farm. The state government. often overwhelmed by a thriving black market. allowed the farmer to submit her own samples for testing weeks after the outbreak began. never independently sampling the facility.
This week. the nation’s largest professional group of pediatricians. the American Academy of Pediatrics. responded to a surge in such cases by renewing its formal call for a nationwide ban on the sale and distribution of unpasteurized milk. The academy’s updated guidance warns that raw dairy carries no proven nutritional benefits and subjects consumers to foodborne illness risks over 100 times higher than pasteurized products. For children, the elderly, and those with compromised immune systems, the danger is acute.
“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,” said Dr. Andrew Racine, president of the academy. “Our responsibility is to make sure that the accurate, evidence-based information is out there.”
While the practice of drinking raw milk was once confined to the fringes of health-food culture. it has transformed into a widespread movement now embraced by over 10 million Americans. This resurgence has collided with clinical reality: pathogenic outbreaks—including salmonella and E. coli—have struck nine states in the last two years. Just last month, federal regulators linked an E. coli outbreak in unpasteurized cheese to 13 illnesses, more than half of which involved young children.
The tension between public health warnings and political rhetoric is intensifying. While pediatricians circulate data on the dangers. including the potential for avian influenza to contaminate dairy. government leadership is moving in the opposite direction. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has openly championed the industry. recently celebrating a report for a “Make America Healthy Again” initiative with a toast of raw-milk shooters at the White House. The Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to requests for comment regarding the academy’s new policy.
Democratic Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut. who chairs the Congressional Food Safety Caucus. warned that the disconnect is becoming a public safety failure. “Secretary of Health and Human Services RFK Jr. cannot even bring himself to tell parents not to give it to their kids,” DeLauro said. She signaled support for policies that mandate warning labels and stabilize funding for outbreak tracking. noting that she takes the academy’s findings “very seriously.”.
For those on the front lines, the policy update is a necessary intervention against aggressive marketing. Dr. Adam Ratner. a New York City pediatric infectious disease expert and lead author of the new statement. pointed to the influence of figures like Mark McAfee. McAfee, who runs a $30 million-a-year raw milk business, has faced recalls and links to outbreaks that have sickened hundreds. The mother of the California toddler had relied on claims found on the website of the Raw Milk Institute. an organization founded by McAfee. Though the farmer denied causing the recent outbreak—claiming the families knowingly bought milk labeled for pet consumption—the reality for the victims remains unchanged.
As the medical community doubles down on the preventive measures first outlined in their 2014 policy, the path forward remains fractured. Federal law prohibits the sale of raw milk across state lines. yet states maintain their own rules. with legal purchases possible in nearly every state. For the American Academy of Pediatrics, the goal is to shift the tide before the next outbreak occurs. “Prevention really is the best single way to keep children healthy and safe,” Dr. Racine said. “And this is a preventive move.”.
raw milk American Academy of Pediatrics public health RFK Jr food safety E. coli dairy regulation