Rep. David Zimmerman, R-Adamstown, says that the demand for raw milk is “out there.”

It is out there, all right, though not in the sense the lawmaker means. He says consumers are asking for raw milk and, in some areas, traveling “a long way” to get it.

That does not mean they should get it.

Drinking raw milk has never been safe. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that pasteurization is “crucial for milk safety,” and consuming “raw milk can lead to serious health risks, especially for certain vulnerable populations” - children younger than 5, adults older than 65, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems.

Drinking or eating products made from raw milk can expose people to germs such as E. coli, listeria and salmonella, the CDC warns, and the outcomes of foodborne illnesses can be severe.

And now the avian flu virus has been detected in dairy cows in other states.

Avian flu can be deadly to poultry - and, as we saw in 2022, it can threaten the livelihoods of poultry farmers.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture and other government agencies continue to investigate an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus impacting dairy cows in multiple states. Fortunately, so far at least, the avian flu virus has not been detected in Pennsylvania cows. But it has been found in dairy cattle in our neighboring state of Ohio.

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration website, there is no concern that avian flu in dairy cows “poses a risk to consumer health, or ... affects the safety of the interstate commercial milk supply because products are pasteurized before entering the market.”

But raw dairy products are not pasteurized. That’s their supposed selling point to those who claim - without evidence - that they contain more nutrients than pasteurized dairy products.

The FDA notes that because research and information are limited, it’s not known at this time whether avian flu viruses can be transmitted through the “consumption of unpasteurized (raw) milk and products (such as cheese) made from raw milk from infected cows. However, we have long known that raw milk can harbor dangerous microorganisms (germs) that can pose serious health risks to consumers.”

In Pennsylvania, raw milk only may be sold by farmers who have permits from the state Department of Agriculture. Those farmers must abide by strict safety standards.

Lancaster County farmer Amos Miller does not have such a permit because he refuses to adhere to state food-safety regulations. He has sold raw milk containing the dangerous bacteria known as listeria. In 2016, raw milk from Miller’s Organic Farm was linked to the 2014 death of a person in Florida.

In January, Pennsylvania agriculture officials executed a search warrant on Miller’s farm after being notified by public health officials in New York and Michigan of illnesses reported in individuals who consumed raw eggnog and other raw dairy products from Miller’s Organic Farm. Both states said tests were positive for Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, which can cause severe stomach cramps, bloody diarrhea and a type of kidney failure. And E. coli, as LNP LancasterOnline’s Dan Nephin reported at the time, “almost always originate in feces.”

How is that for a selling point? Buy raw dairy products and you might get some bonus E. coli bacteria.

Zimmerman, who grew up on a dairy farm, said his proposed legislation wasn’t created with Miller in mind.

Earlier this month, state officials reported that a person who consumed raw milk from Apple Valley Creamery, sold under the Pure Pastures Dairy label, had become ill with campylobacteriosis, which causes diarrhea (often bloody), fever and stomach cramps.

Consumers who bought that milk with sell-by dates of April 3 through May 2 were urged to discard it immediately. The raw milk was produced by an Adams County business, but it was sold in Lancaster County at Lemon Street Market, according to a Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture news release.

The appeal of raw milk, with its associated health risks, escapes us. Unfortunately, raw dairy has been embraced as a token of freedom by some who spurn government food-safety regulations and other science-based rules aimed at keeping people from dying.

If people believe the labels “organic,” “raw” and “pure” automatically equate to “healthy,” they might want to think again.

If people want to demonstrate their freedom from government regulation by risking their health and consuming raw dairy products, that’s up to them.

But state lawmakers shouldn’t make it easier for them.

LNP/LancasterOnline