'It’s Crestfallen': Experts alarmed by raw milk illnesses in Florida

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A new health warning from Florida officials this week is renewing debate over raw, unpasteurized milk and the controversial political movement growing behind it.

Watch full report from Forrest Saunders

After a recent outbreak of illnesses tied to raw milk, the Florida Department of Health (DOH) issued a public alert, reminding consumers that the sale of raw milk for human consumption remains illegal in Florida.

"In Florida, raw milk can only be sold for non-human consumption as pet or animal food, which limits regulation efforts of sanitary practices. Containers must have a label clearly stating that the raw milk is for animal consumption only," the DOH cautioned.

The outbreak has been linked to a specific, but unnamed, Florida farm and has resulted in at least 21 confirmed cases of illness, including campylobacter and Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) E. coli infections. At least six of the patients are children, and seven people have been hospitalized so far.

“It’s crestfallen…” said Keith Schneider, a food safety professor at the University of Florida.

According to Schneider, the science is clear: pasteurization — the process of heating milk to kill harmful bacteria — is essential.

“I'm speculating here because I have no data,” he added. “But I think people just have forgotten what it used to be like. Same thing with measles vaccination, it’s gonna take a big measles outbreak, you know, for people to start trusting measles vaccines. Or, rubella, or any of the other things that we have ostensibly wiped out to start coming back.”

Florida Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson echoed the health concerns, urging Floridians to “protect their health by only consuming pasteurized milk products” in a Wednesday statement.

“Florida’s pasteurized milk supply is safe, nutritious, and closely controlled from the farm to your local grocery store,” said Commissioner Simpson. “There have been no reported illnesses from pasteurized milk products in Florida, so Floridians should continue to buy and enjoy nutritious and wholesome dairy products from Florida farmers.”

Still, raw milk advocates are pressing forward. Groups like The Raw Milk Institute (RAWMI) have continued to promote the product, offering training and touting its supposed health benefits — including stronger immune systems, fewer allergies, and improved gut health.

“If raw milk can emerge safely, we will have a very sustainable, extremely high value added farmer product that farmers can thrive on,” said RAWMI founder Mark McAfee in a training video. “Our environments, our cows will do well better. Our soils will do better. And our consumers, our customers, will do very, very well.”

But federal health agencies, including the FDA and CDC, remain firmly opposed. Their online guidance warns plainly: “raw milk puts all consumers at risk…”

The issue has taken on a new political edge in recent months as raw milk advocates find support from within the federal government. Among them is Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has openly praised raw milk and criticized federal restrictions.

“Since I was here last year, I only drank raw milk,” Kennedy said in remarks shared by the Weston A. Price Foundation during the 2022 Children’s Health Defense conference.

Following news he would take over HHS in the forthcoming Trump administration, Kennedy posted to social media: “The FDA’s war on public health is about to end. This includes its aggressive suppression of psychedelics, peptides, stem cells, raw milk… and anything else that advances human health and can't be patented by Pharma.”

Despite these political endorsements, public health officials are holding the line. The FDA and CDC continue to emphasize that raw milk remains especially dangerous for vulnerable populations — including children, seniors, and those with weakened immune systems. Florida’s Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services also notes that pasteurized dairy products are subject to regular inspection, microbial testing, and enforceable safety standards — safeguards that raw milk lacks.

As the national conversation continues, Florida health leaders are urging caution over what they say is a nostalgic — and potentially hazardous — return to the past.