American Academy of Pediatrics calls for nationwide ban on raw milk products

The American Academy of Pediatrics has issued an updated policy statement calling for a nationwide ban on raw, unpasteurized milk products, citing severe health risks to children, pregnant people, and immunocompromised individuals. Despite scientific consensus that pasteurization is necessary to kill pathogens like E. coli and Salmonella, raw dairy has surged in popularity due to wellness trends and political backing from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Pediatricians are urged to lobby for state bans to combat this growing public health risk.

The American Academy of Pediatrics policy on raw milk

• ▪The American Academy of Pediatrics first published a policy statement advising against raw milk consumption in 2014, making the October 2026 statement a reaffirmation of a decade-old stance.
• ▪The American Academy of Pediatrics policy statement urges pediatricians to lobby local politicians and public health officials for state laws banning raw dairy sales and more restrictions.
• ▪The American Academy of Pediatrics published an updated policy statement on October 5, 2026, endorsing a nationwide ban on the sale and distribution of unpasteurized raw milk and raw dairy products.
• ▪The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that infants, young children, pregnant people, breastfeeding parents, adolescents, young adults, and immunocompromised individuals consume only pasteurized milk and dairy products.

Nutritional claims and misinformation about raw milk

• ▪The American Academy of Pediatrics stated that pasteurization does not reduce the nutritional value of milk and that unpasteurized milk has no nutritional advantages over pasteurized milk.
• ▪The American Academy of Pediatrics updated its raw milk policy statement partly due to a large amount of online misinformation and wellness trends promoting the alleged health benefits of unpasteurized dairy.

Illnesses and outbreaks linked to raw milk

• ▪Last month, federal health authorities linked a multistate Escherichia coli outbreak that sickened 13 people, mostly young children, to recalled raw milk cheeses.
• ▪A June 2026 outbreak in Idaho linked to raw milk resulted in at least 45 people testing positive for campylobacteriosis.
• ▪The American Academy of Pediatrics highlighted that children are at particular risk from raw milk, accounting for nearly half of all illnesses in raw dairy outbreaks.
• ▪Consumption of unpasteurized milk in the United States from 2013 to 2018 led to 75 outbreaks, resulting in 675 illnesses, 98 hospitalizations, and two deaths.

Threat of bird flu

• ▪In 2024, a child in California suspected of having H5N1 avian influenza had consumed raw milk before experiencing symptoms.
• ▪The American Academy of Pediatrics policy statement highlighted the emerging threat of H5N1 avian influenza, noting that unpasteurized milk from infected cows can harbor live virus for up to five weeks when refrigerated.

Advocacy for the raw milk industry

• ▪Social media influencers have amplified claims by Mark McAfee, founder of the Raw Milk Institute, helping build his raw milk business into a $30 million-a-year operation despite numerous regulatory recalls.
• ▪Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has championed the raw milk industry, celebrating a Make America Healthy Again report with raw-milk shooters in the White House and advocating for raw milk.

State and federal raw milk laws

• ▪At least 27 states in the United States currently permit the sale of raw dairy products, and proponents have successfully lobbied to loosen state laws in recent years.
• ▪Federal law restricts the sale of raw milk across state lines, but individual states are permitted to decide how raw milk is sold within their boundaries.

Texas investigations into pediatricians

• ▪Critics state that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's anti-vaccine campaign is aimed at currying favor with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and President Donald Trump ahead of Paxton's run for the U.S. Senate.
• ▪Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton launched investigations against pediatricians for vaccinating patients, falsely claiming that vaccines are part of a multi-level, multi-industry scheme.

Debatable claims

• ▪Institutional distrust is the primary driver of the raw milk movement
• ▪The health risks of raw milk outweigh its purported nutritional benefits
• ▪The federal government should ban all retail sales of raw dairy products
• ▪Parents have the right to feed raw dairy products to their children