You may soon be able to legally purchase raw milk in the state of Arkansas.
This week, state legislators advanced House Bill 1048 to further legalize the sale of raw milk. The Arkansas Times reported that the bill cleared the Arkansas House agriculture committee with unanimous, bipartisan support.
According to the news outlet, the fight to deregulate milk came to a head in the summer of 2024 after farmers selling their product at a neighborhood farmer’s market had their raw milk confiscated by the Department of Health and later discarded for violating the state’s current ban on sales outside of dairy farms. The bill would update the state’s law to allow farmers to sell not only off their farms but also to make deliveries and sell at farmer’s markets. Farmers will also be able to sell up to 500 gallons a year.
“This change will make it easier for farmers and their customers to connect and do business together,” Rep. Cameron Cooper said at the hearing, according to the Arkansas Times. “This bill is about food freedom and food security, and it promotes the concept of buying and shopping locally, supporting your neighbors and the local agricultural economy with local products.”
The updated bill comes just as H5N1, also known as Avian Influenza or “Bird Flu,” is kicking into high gear, causing the mass culling of egg-laying hens across the United States and infecting dairy cows around the nation, including in California, where it was detected in a batch of raw milk in late 2024.
Food & Wine previously reported that the California Department of Public Health issued a recall notice, “warning the public to avoid consuming one batch of cream top, whole raw milk produced and packaged by Raw Farm, LLC of Fresno County due to a detection of bird flu virus in a retail sample.” It added that the company issued a voluntary recall of the affected raw milk — which has lot code 20241109 and a Best By date of November 27, 2024, printed on the packaging — at the state’s request.
Additionally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that raw milk is more likely to cause serious foodborne illnesses and is more likely to expose consumers to harmful bacteria, including E. coli, Listeria, and Salmonella. As registered dietitian nutritionist Lena Bakovic of Top Nutrition Coaching also previously shared with Food & Wine, people who are “immunocompromised, very young, or older in age are especially prone to these foodborne illnesses/infections.”
And perhaps most importantly, experts — including those Food & Wine previously spoke to — agree that there is little to no nutritional difference between raw and pasteurized milk. And no, it doesn’t have extra probiotics. But what it does have is extra bacteria. According to registered dietitian Joanna Gregg of MyFitnessPal, “most of the microorganisms referred to in this way are actually pathogens that are present due to infected udder tissues, the dairy environment, and milking equipment, and high levels of these bacteria often indicate poor hygiene or poor animal health.”
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