More than 20 people, including some children, were recently infected with E. coli and Campylobacter bacteria after drinking raw milk from the same Florida farm. Some were hospitalized with severe illness.
Raw milk, which refers to dairy that hasn’t been pasteurized, has become popular in recent years, with some social media influencers on TikTok suggesting it offers more health benefits than pasteurized milk. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said that he drinks raw milk, which he claims “advances human health.”
But most health experts disagree, and say raw milk actually poses health risks.
“With social media, these fads can be extremely dangerous, when there is no real evidence that raw milk is better for you than pasteurized,” says Anthony Ognjan, DO, an osteopathic physician specializing in infectious diseases in Sterling Heights, Michigan. “People who are drinking unpasteurized milk are really putting their lives and overall health at risk.”
Raw Milk vs. Pasteurized Milk: Which One Is Healthier?
Raw milk isn’t pasteurized, meaning it doesn’t undergo a process where the milk is briefly heated to a high temperature to kill germs that can make you sick. Because of this, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notes that “raw milk can be a source of foodborne illness.”
Pasteurization was invented in the early 1900s and has “greatly reduced milk-borne illnesses,” according to the CDC. Milk available at grocery stores is typically pasteurized.
But most states allow the sale of raw milk in some form — whether in retail stores, via farmer-to-consumer sales, or marketed as pet food.
Even though states allow raw milk sales, Dr. Ognjan says that doesn’t mean the milk is safe. Even when farms have good practices for handling milk, the CDC notes they can’t “guarantee safety from harmful germs.”
“It doesn’t matter how healthy the animal is or how hygienic the farm that the milk comes from is — all raw milk poses a risk of carrying harmful bacteria,” says Amy Edwards, MD, an associate professor of pediatrics at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, who specializes in infectious diseases.
What Are the Risks of Consuming Raw Milk?
Because raw milk doesn’t undergo pasteurization, Dr. Edwards says it can contain germs including:
Symptoms of illness from contaminated milk may include:
Diarrhea
Stomach cramps
Vomiting
Headache
Fever
Body aches
Most healthy people will likely recover from the illness, Edwards says, but children under 5, older adults, and people with compromised immune systems may be at risk of more severe disease from drinking raw milk.
Between 1998 and 2018, there were 202 outbreaks linked to raw milk that caused more than 2,600 illnesses and 228 hospitalizations. While raw milk can make you sick, pathogens like E. coli can also spread from person to person, expanding the breadth of illnesses, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
There’s No Evidence That Raw Milk Is Better for You
“There is no change in the quality and nutrition of food once you pasteurize it, so people shouldn’t believe that they’re ingesting a better product when they drink raw milk,” Ognjan says.
There’s no evidence to suggest raw milk offers more health benefits, he adds. The CDC notes that “pasteurized milk offers the same nutritional benefits without the risks of raw milk consumption.”
It’s also important to note that milk isn’t the only food that’s pasteurized, Ognjan says. Beer, soft drinks, cheese, juice, yogurt, eggs, canned foods, and condiments like ketchup and mayonnaise are also pasteurized.
“During Christmas, I enjoy eggnog, but there is no way I am drinking it with raw milk,” Ognjan says.
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