Pingree launches bill allowing interstate raw milk sales

Courtesy / U.S. Department of Agriculture Stonyfield Organic Yogurt will expand its direct supply network to help Northeast family farms.

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By Staff

A bill that would lift a federal prohibition on raw milk sales across state lines was introduced in the U.S. House last week by U.S. Reps. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine 1st District, and Thomas Massie, R-Ky.

The Interstate Milk Freedom Act would lift a U.S. Food and Drug Administration ban, allowing raw milk to be sold between states that already allow its sale within their borders. Unpasteurized milk is the only food that's banned from interstate sales, the result of a 1987 FDA ruling. It's not the first time the legislation has been introduced — it was also a proposed amendment to the 2018 Farm Bill, and a standalone bill in 2015 and 2014.

The proposed act prohibits federal interference with the interstate traffic of unpasteurized milk and milk products that are packaged for direct human consumption among states that already allow it. It’s legal to drink raw milk in all 50 states, and to sell it in 28 states. In Maine, raw milk can be sold in retail stores as long as it's labeled "unpasteurized," but can't be served in restaurants.

Unpasteurized milk can carry dangerous germs, such as brucella, campylobacter, cryptosporidium, E. coli, listeria and salmonella, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But some consider raw milk healthier than pasteurized milk, and proponents say the health risks aren't any greater than the risk of foodborne illnesses associated with produce, meat and other products.

Those in Congress supporting the bill say the ban has an adverse impact on dairy farmers and trade in general. The advocates also say that only Congress can pass laws, not the FDA or other federal agencies.

“So many people across the country want to make sure their food is fresh and local — including fruits, vegetables, and even their milk,” said Pingree in a news release. “Raw milk is currently the only food banned for interstate commerce — an onerous regulation that hurts small farmers for selling milk straight from their cows to the consumer.”

Massie said federal agencies, such as the FDA, that are part of the executive branch "do not and should not have the power to shut down trade between peaceful farmers and willing consumers."

"It is Congress’s job to legislate," he said. "Our Interstate Milk Freedom Act would make it easier for families to buy milk of their choice by reversing the criminalization of specific dairy farmers.”

Rep. Lloyd Smucker, R-Pa., said that raw milk is "a niche product highly valued by educated consumers who understand any risks associated with its consumption."

"This industry is vital economically for many small family farms in my district, who survive and thrive by selling directly to the consumer," he said. “Small family farms have been consuming and distributing raw milk safely for hundreds of years. This bill rightly gets the federal government out of the way and decriminalizes farmers and producers who choose to sell or take unpasteurized milk and other dairy products to willing customers throughout the nation.”

The bill has bipartisan support from many members of Congress, the release said, listing initial 16 cosponsors, aside from Pingree and Massie, both of whom own farms.