The HighWire obtained data on all raw milk outbreaks in the United States dating back to 1987 from the CDC via FOIA request. The information in the spreadsheets casts doubt on claims that the FDA and CDC have made regarding the dangers of drinking unpasteurized milk.

The FOIA request, first sent in June, asked the FDA for records on raw milk outbreaks in the United States that support the claim that some outbreaks “involve miscarriages, stillbirths, kidney failure, and deaths.”

The complete statement from the FDA website is, “Since 1987, there have been 143 reported outbreaks of illness – some involving miscarriages, stillbirths, kidney failure, and deaths – associated with consumption of raw milk and raw milk products that were contaminated with pathogenic bacteria such as Listeria, Campylobacter, Salmonella, and E. coli.”

The FDA said it was “unable to locate any records” responsive to the request. The agency suggested contacting the CDC for raw milk outbreak data. The CDC retrieved the data more than six months following the request, and it does not show any data concerning miscarriages, stillbirths, or kidney failure.

The CDC also states, “from 1998 through 2018, there were 202 outbreaks linked to drinking raw milk These outbreaks caused 2,645 illnesses and 228 hospitalizations.” The data provided from the CDC FOIA request shows 1,048 confirmed cases from 1998 through 2018 and 2,138 when factoring in “probable” cases. The number of hospitalizations was 216 during this period, according to the provided data. A total of 170 “outbreaks” are listed in the spreadsheet.

The FOIA letter from the CDC states redactions were made from the 1998-present spreadsheet “after a careful review” because of the “foreseeable harm standard.” Under Exemption 6, the CDC redacted personal information, health identification numbers, and names.

The data provided from the CDC FOIA request shows 1,225 confirmed cases caused by raw milk products from 1998 to present. The document suggests 2,480 total cases were caused by the consumption of raw milk products, including confirmed and “probable” cases. The CDC states that data from 2023 and 2024 is still preliminary.

Even when including probable cases and an additional six years, the total number of cases is less than the CDC claims and the FDA reports. There are multiple sources online that claim there have been three deaths according to the CDC, but none of them link back to the original source.

The CDC outbreak data shows two deaths from consuming raw milk products since 1987. They both occurred in 2014. According to the CDC, the Utah patient “died 1 week later of multisystem organ failure, related, in part, to gastroenteritis and underlying medical conditions.”

The other death was a 73-year old woman in Florida, Christa Rittel, who had a stroke two to three weeks before, had a lymphoma cancer diagnosis, and was receiving chemotherapy. Investigative reporter David Gumpert suggested the CDC committed misconduct by not providing the full details of the case. Rittel had listeria in her system when she died, so the CDC connected the death to Amos Miller’s farm because of “genetic similarities.”

At the time of her death, Rittel lived with a 54-year old named Peggy Stevenson. Stevenson doesn’t think they had raw milk in the house at the time. She also said even if they did have raw milk in the house, it is doubtful that Rittel drank any. Stevenson said the CDC’s report was “an attempt to economically destroy a small family farm and business,” according to Gumpert’s 2016 report.

The CDC claims in an archived report that the family reported Rittel drank raw milk before her eventual death, but that contradicts the investigative report and the statements from Stevenson. The CDC’s report also does not mention the lymphoma diagnosis or the stroke Rittel experienced weeks before her death.

Since 1987, there have been 39 total outbreaks, with 10 or more people becoming ill. The spreadsheets from the CDC show 162 “outbreaks” since 1987 that involve less than five confirmed sicknesses. This includes six listed outbreaks with 0 confirmed cases and 31 outbreaks with only one confirmed case.

The CDC provided the data in two different spreadsheets “because of differences in how outbreaks were reported to the Foodborne Disease Outbreak Surveillance System (FDOSS) between the two time periods.” The first spreadsheet is from 1987-1997 and contains 14 total outbreaks. The second is from 1998-2024.

In total, there were 230 raw milk outbreaks from 1987 to the present and 67 of those contained five or more confirmed illnesses tied to raw milk.

The CDC issued a report to estimate the number of outbreaks that are associated with each type of food and pathogen in 2022. The study concludes “Over 75% of [salmonella] illnesses were attributed to seven food categories: chicken, fruits, seeded vegetables (such as tomatoes), pork, other produce (such as nuts), beef, and turkey.” Dairy accounts for 2.4% of illnesses caused by salmonella.

63.7% of estimated E. coli illnesses are caused by vegetable row crops and 21.4% are connected with beef. 3.4% of estimated E. coli infections are caused by dairy.

The CDC estimates 37.3% of listeria infections are caused by dairy, but it also states that credibility intervals were “wide, partly due to the small total number of outbreaks.” The FOIA data provided by the CDC only lists one listeria outbreak since 1987 connected to raw milk. It was the woman who died with listeria in her system after being diagnosed with lymphoma and having a stroke.

Campylobacter is the most common pathogen associated with raw milk, according to the outbreak data. The CDC estimates that 1.5 million Campylobacter infections occur in the U.S. every year, which is estimated to cause 124 deaths each year.

The CDC estimates that 48 million people get sick from foodborne illnesses each year in the U.S., while 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die.

Raw milk outbreaks since 1998 (26 years) have caused an estimated 2,460 illnesses and 261 hospitalizations. That is about 95 illnesses and 10 yearly hospitalizations associated with raw milk.

Since 1987 (37 years), there have been 2,761 confirmed illnesses connected to raw milk products, 278 hospitalizations, and two deaths. That equals 75 illnesses per year and eight hospitalizations per year in the U.S. associated with the consumption of raw milk products.

A study found that leafy greens, mostly lettuce, are responsible for 2,028 illnesses, 477 hospitalizations, and 18 deaths from 2014-2021. That equates to 290 illnesses per year, 68 hospitalizations, and between two and three deaths yearly. The CDC concludes that leafy greens cause most foodborne illnesses, while most deaths were caused by poultry.

A CDC study published in 2013 examined data regarding foodborne illness by food category from 1998-2008. During this period, plants (fruit, vegetables, nuts) were responsible for 51.1% of all foodborne illnesses, while foods derived from land animals accounted for 41.7%. This includes pathogens that are bacterial, chemical, parasitic, and viral.

The CDC claims kidney diseases, miscarriages, and stillbirths are associated with raw milk consumption but did not provide any data to substantiate the claim. A 2014 study discusses the dangers of raw milk consumption for pregnant mothers.

The paper attempts to link raw milk consumption with miscarriages and stillbirths and links to two studies as evidence. One study refers to “illicitly-produced Mexican-style cheese” sold in unmarked packages by door-to-door salesmen is linked to higher rates of listeriosis. Another study about listeriosis does not mention raw milk. Meanwhile, the CDC data only includes two listeria cases from raw milk consumption in the last 37 years. The one that led to death is questionable due to the severe underlying health conditions of the patient.

The recommendations against raw milk consumption usually point to comparisons of foodborne pathogenic illnesses connected to raw milk vs pasteurized milk. Doctors and health agencies say there is no nutritional benefit or otherwise to justify any level of risk associated with consuming raw milk.

The New York Times published an article on Monday stating that there are benefits to the consumption of raw milk that are frequently dismissed by those who focus on the purported dangers. The article states, “There is also a wealth of epidemiological research, most of it from Europe, that suggests that drinking raw milk early in life can protect against the development of asthma and allergies later.”

The NY Times article calls for more nuanced discussions surrounding the benefits and risks of raw milk. The article states, “The health value of raw milk may be greater than the basic nourishment it provides. It may contain ingredients that benefit human health in extra-nutritional ways that haven’t received much consideration in the past, mostly because no one knew they mattered.”

The HighWire reported in May about a study where mice were fed raw milk inoculated with H5N1 and became sick on the first day. Inoculating the milk right before it is consumed does not mean livestock infected with H5N1 would create milk inoculated with H5N1 and thus the study was flawed. 

The HighWire also reported last month about California’s state of emergency for H5N1 and the continued push to discourage raw milk sales.