Florida health officials warned the public to avoid raw milk after 21 consumers became sick.
The Florida Department of Health traced 21 cases of Campylobacter and Shiga toxin-producing E. coli infections back to a single farm. Six of those infected were children under 10, and seven were hospitalized, with two of those cases being severe.
“Sanitation practices in this farm are of particular concern due to the number of cases,” the department said, though it didn’t name the farm. “Floridians are encouraged to use this information to make informed decisions about their health and sources of raw milk should they choose to consume it.”
In Florida, raw milk can only be sold for animal consumption, and product labeling must show as much. The DHS’s notice acknowledged that Floridians buy it for human consumption anyway, but warned that “the producer’s handling of raw milk and milking procedures are vital in the prevention of contamination.”
Raw milk hasn’t undergone pasteurization, a heat treatment process intended to kill bacteria, which most commercially sold milk has. Pasteurization was invented in the 1860s by French scientist Louis Pasteur. The United States adopted mandatory pasteurization laws in 1924.
RAW MILK: WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT PASTEURIZATION AND BIRD FLU
A movement in favor of raw milk has gained steam in recent years, seeing an explosion in its consumption after the loss of faith in public health agencies following the COVID-19 pandemic. Advocates such as Mark McAfee, president of the Raw Milk Institute in California, defended the practice to the Washington Examiner in May, saying certain procedures, such as rapid chilling and testing, help mitigate the risks inherent in raw milk.
While the Food and Drug Administration heavily discourages its consumption, 14 states allow the sale of raw milk in grocery stores, and 21 allow it to be sold directly by farmers.
