More than half of U.S. adults know drinking unpasteurized, raw milk can make you sick

A new survey has shown that 56 percent of U.S. adults know that drinking raw milk, sometimes called “fresh” milk, is less safe than drinking pasteurized milk.

The survey, which involved more than 1,700 U.S. adults, was conducted Jan. 30-Feb. 10 by researchers at the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. It found that two-thirds of people do not know that children are more vulnerable than adults to getting sick from the viruses and bacteria that can occur in raw milk.

The findings are statistically unchanged from the center’s July 2024 survey, even though raw milk has tested positive for H5N1 bird flu.

Only 4 percent of survey respondents reported having consumed raw, unpasteurized milk in the past 12 months, while another 2 percent were not sure whether they had drunk raw milk.

Since April 2024, the avian flu virus has been detected in raw milk samples taken from four states, but only 17 percent of those polled know that bird flu has been found only in raw milk, and not pasteurized milk.

“Two percent incorrectly say bird flu has been found only in pasteurized milk, 7 percent say it has been found in both, 7 percent say it has been found in neither, and over two-thirds of those surveyed 68 percent are not sure,” the researchers wrote. 

Public health officials in all 50 states have long warned of the dangers of unpasteurized, raw milk. It can harbor pathogens including E. coli, Listeria, Salmonella and viruses. The pasteurization process, which heats milk for a few seconds, kills all of these pathogens.

Health officials also say there is no scientific research that shows raw milk has any benefits compared to pasteurized milk. 

Fifty-nine percent of poll respondents said they are unsure if raw milk is more effective than pasteurized milk at preventing osteoporosis. Similarly, 54 percent were not sure if raw milk helps asthma sufferers, and 47 percent were not sure if raw milk strengthens the immune system.

According to health officials at local, state and national levels, children, older people, and immune-compromised people are all at increased risk from foodborne pathogens, including Salmonella, E. coli, Campylobacter, Cryptosporidium, Listeria, and Brucella, if they drink raw milk.

Federal and state regulations
Selling raw milk across state lines has been illegal in the United States since 1987, but 30 states allow statewide trade to varying degrees. Some states restrict sales to on-farm only, some allow people to buy a share in a cow or herd in return for a portion of the raw milk produced, others allow retail sales.

Among poll respondents, 24 percent favored the interstate sale of raw milk and 28 percent opposed it.

The margin of sampling error was plus or minus 3.4 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level, according to the authors of the poll.

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