Raw Milk Misinformation

A new Nature analysis says many people now accept unsupported health claims, including the idea that raw milk is safer or healthier than pasteurized milk. (nature.com) Nature’s April 22, 2026 story cited a 2025 BMJ analysis by Junaid Sheikh and colleagues and said belief in claims without solid evidence had reached a “staggering” level across topics including vaccines and raw milk. (nature.com) Raw milk is milk that has not been pasteurized, a heat treatment used to kill germs before the product reaches consumers. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says pasteurization is “crucial for milk safety” and that choosing pasteurized dairy is the safest way to get milk’s nutritional benefits. (cdc.gov) The current fight over raw milk is not just about bacteria. Since highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 was detected in U.S. dairy cattle in March 2024, federal health agencies have warned against drinking unpasteurized milk because infected cows can shed virus into milk. (cdc.gov) Federal regulators say the commercial milk supply remains safe because pasteurization inactivates H5N1. The Food and Drug Administration said testing of 464 pasteurized dairy products found no viable H5N1, and multiple studies confirmed the heat process neutralizes the virus. (fda.gov) Health officials are also pointing to ordinary food-poisoning risks that predate bird flu. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report on a 2023-24 Salmonella outbreak linked to one California raw-milk dairy identified 171 cases in five states, and 70% were in people younger than 18. (cdc.gov) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says raw milk can carry E. coli, Listeria, Campylobacter, Brucella, Cryptosporidium and Salmonella even when farms follow hygiene rules. The agency’s raw-milk guidance says contamination can be reduced but not eliminated. (cdc.gov) The raw-milk debate sits inside a wider misinformation problem that also includes vaccines. The World Health Organization said in September 2025 that misinformation was helping threaten immunization progress, with 14.5 million infants missing even a first routine vaccine dose in 2024. (who.int) Raw-milk advocates often argue that unpasteurized products taste better or preserve beneficial microbes and enzymes, and some states allow retail or farm-direct sales. Public health agencies have kept the core message unchanged: if the goal is lower infection risk, pasteurization is the control step that matters. (cdc.gov) That leaves the central split described by Nature in plain view: unsupported claims about food and medicine are spreading at the same time health agencies are repeating century-old safety advice. On raw milk, the evidence base still favors heat-treated dairy over faith in “natural” protection. (nature.com)