Raw Milk Sales Are Surging — What Are the Risks?

 Raw Milk Sales Are Surging — What Are the Risks?

Health officials are warning people to avoid raw milk because of the threat of live bird flu virus. Yet sales are spiking.

Key Takeaways

U.S. sales of raw milk are up by as much as 21 percent since bird flu virus was first detected in dairy cows in March.

Samples of milk from sick cows show the presence of live bird flu virus, which can cause severe illness or even death.

Pasteurization has been shown to kill bird flu virus in milk.

No illnesses traced to raw milk have yet been reported in humans in the United States, but public health officials advise caution.

As reports about the spread of bird flu in dairy cows suggest a growing threat to humans who drink raw milk, public health officials are advising Americans to avoid unpasteurized products.

Tests of milk taken directly from sick cows have confirmed the presence of live bird flu virus (H5N1).

But many raw milk enthusiasts are undeterred by these warnings. In fact, some appear to be buying more raw milk than ever. 

Sales of raw milk have increased by as much as 21 percent since H5N1 was detected in U.S. dairy cows at the end of March, according to data provided by the market research company NielsenIQ. Compared with this time last year, raw milk sales have shot up by as much as 65 percent.

Why are sales surging? “It’s a paradoxical effect,” says William Schaffner, MD, an infectious-disease specialist and a professor of preventive medicine and health policy at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tennessee. “If people anticipate scarcity or possible restrictions, then a line forms. I think there’s a sense of, ‘We better get some and enjoy it now, because we might not be able to in the future.’”

Why Do Some People Love Raw Milk?

Many wellness influencers have embraced raw milk as part of a “natural” lifestyle, with people like Goop’s Gwyneth Paltrow touting its purported benefits. Videos with the hashtag #rawmilk have been watched hundreds of millions of times, according to an analysis by the research center Media Matters for America.

The Raw Milk Institute, a nonprofit dedicated to improving the safety and quality of raw milk through farmer training, argues that raw milk is safe. Their website highlights research studies indicating that raw milk may have antiviral properties and other health benefits.

“Some research may suggest benefits of raw milk,” Dr. Schaffner says. “But we still have to balance this against the risks. The public health record is very clear: Outbreaks of bacterial infections continue to occur from time to time among consumers of raw milk.”

Federal data show that from 1993 through 2012, there were 127 disease outbreaks in the United States linked to raw milk or raw milk products like ice cream, soft cheese, or yogurt. These resulted in 1,909 illnesses and 144 hospitalizations.

That’s why the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are alerting the public to avoid raw milk now because of the threat of bird flu while maintaining that pasteurization makes milk safe.

Is Pasteurized Milk Really Safe to Drink Now? 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says that the commercial milk supply poses no risk to consumer health despite the bird flu outbreak, as pasteurization has continuously proven to deactivate microorganisms.

The process of pasteurization is a simple food safety technique that uses heat to kill any disease-causing bacteria in milk, including salmonella, E. coli, listeria, and campylobacter. Prior to pasteurization, which the United States began to adopt in the early 1900s, milk was a common source of bacteria that cause tuberculosis, diphtheria, severe streptococcal infections, typhoid fever, and other foodborne illnesses.

Recent FDA testing is proving pasteurization to be effective against the bird flu virus as well. Samples of pasteurized milk sold at retail locations as of May 10 have come back negative for live H5N1. 

No Reports Have Yet Linked Drinking Raw Milk With Bird Flu in Humans

Mark McAfee, chairman of the Raw Milk Institute, calls the recent public health warnings unfounded. “There is yet to be one case of avian influenza in humans from raw milk consumption,” he says.

Currently, just two Americans have tested positive for H5N1 this year, and those infections came from exposure to sick dairy cows in Texas and Michigan, not from ingesting raw milk.

But while those two people had only mild symptoms, bird flu can be life-threatening. The World Health Organization reported that H5N1 caused 463 deaths worldwide between 2003 and April 1, 2024.

Chances of a bird flu outbreak among people in the U.S. appear to be low for the time being, but Schaffner notes that the steps taken by the federal government are warranted based on prior disease transmission related to raw milk.

“From time to time, these illnesses spread from consumers of raw milk to close contacts who are not consumers,” he says. “These infections have the potential to spread into the community, so that’s a public health concern.”