US paediatricians renew call to ban raw milk as child infections fuel alarm

The American Academy of Pediatrics says growing demand for unpasteurised dairy is exposing children and other vulnerable groups to avoidable infections.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has renewed its call for a nationwide ban on the sale and distribution of unpasteurised milk and other raw dairy products, saying the risks to children outweigh any claimed benefits. In updated guidance published this week, the academy warned that raw milk can carry dangerous bacteria and other pathogens, and that pregnant people and those with weakened immune systems face similar danger. Dr Andrew Racine, the academy’s president, said the organisation felt compelled to push out what it sees as evidence-based advice as interest in raw milk grows.

The warning comes as raw dairy has moved from a niche wellness trend into a broader cultural movement, fuelled in part by distrust of institutions and online claims about supposed health benefits. ProPublica reported that more than 10 million Americans now drink raw milk, even though scientists and public health officials say pasteurisation remains the key step that makes milk safe. The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention says unpasteurised milk can contain Campylobacter, E. coli, Listeria, Salmonella and other harmful germs, while the Food and Drug Administration has said raw milk has been tied to 143 reported outbreaks since 1987, leading to illnesses, hospitalisations and deaths.

Public health concerns have intensified as outbreaks linked to raw dairy have continued to surface. According to ProPublica, nine states have had raw dairy-related outbreaks over the past two years, and federal regulators linked a recent E. coli outbreak to unpasteurised cheese that sickened 13 people, more than half of them young children. The academy said it first backed a nationwide ban in 2014 and has now revised that position to reflect newer epidemiological evidence, along with growing concern about highly pathogenic avian influenza, which can contaminate raw milk.

The debate has also become political. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has publicly backed raw milk, even as the academy presses for tighter restrictions and better public education. Representative Rosa DeLauro, who chairs the Congressional Food Safety Caucus, told ProPublica she was taking the paediatricians’ warning seriously and supported steps such as warning labels and stronger outbreak monitoring. For parents, the academy’s message is blunt: pasteurised dairy gives milk’s nutritional value without the needless exposure to serious infection.