North Dakota House advances bill to allow the sale of raw milk to consumers

Consumers in North Dakota are one step closer to being able to buy unpasteurized milk direct from farmers. 

The state’s House of Representatives passed a bill allowing dairies to sell raw, unpasteurized milk directly to consumers on an 82-9 vote.

The bill was sponsored by Dawson Holle, a Morton County dairy farmer.

If the state senate approves the bill and the governor signs it into law, consumers would be able to buy raw milk from dairies. Dairies would still be barred from selling raw milk to wholesalers or retailers.

The legislation, House Bill 1131, is less than one page. It states that producers may sell raw milk and raw milk products directly to consumers in the state and that they may not sell raw milk across state lines. Federal law prohibits the sale of raw milk across state lines. Also, raw milk producers would not be allowed to donate unpasteurized, raw milk under the bill.

Nineteen people provided comments in favor of the bill. Five comments in opposition to the bill were logged. Many of those in favor of the bill were individuals who cited individual tases as the primary reason behind their support. Many raw milk supporters believe the pasteurization process removes healthy properties of milk, although there is no scientific evidence to support that belief.

Those in opposition included the North Dakota Environmental Health Association.

“In its raw state, milk contains a number of bacteria, some of which might be pathogenic such as enterotoxigenic Staphylococcus aureus, Campylobacter, E. coli, Listeria, Salmonella, Yersinia, Brucella, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Headrick et al., 1998),” the association stated in its comments on the bill. 

“The process of pasteurization has been used for 100 years to destroy pathogenic bacteria that are present in raw milk (Schmidt & Davidson, 2008).”

The Milk Producers of North Dakota provided comments saying that members support the sale of raw milk, but that they cannot support the bill as it is written because it does not contain safety regulations such as farm registration, product labeling and farm inspections.

A proponent of the raw milk bill was Andrew Alexis Varvel, a Bismarck resident.

“I think this change in the law can – and probably will – promote innovation in the development of products made from raw milk,” Varvel wrote. “I am especially interested in cheese. And hopefully, this change could create an inviting atmosphere for professional cheese makers to come to North Dakota as well.”

Another proponent is a dairy farmer with a small operation, Amy Gieser of

Mandan.

“I understand the concern and care that must be taken in providing food to the general public as do most producers of cottage foods,” Gieser wrote. “Allowing for the sale of raw milk products will enhance the benefits of the consumer and boost the cottage food industry that is already going strong in our communities.”

Virtually all public health officials in the United States, from local to state to federal levels warn against the consumption of raw milk because of its propensity to be contaminated with dangerous bacteria and viruses. Researchers have found more than 200 disease outbreaks linked to unpasteurized milk from 1998 to 2018, leading to 2,645 illnesses, 228 hospitalizations and three deaths.

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Source: https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2025/01/north-dakota-house-advances-bill-to-allow-the-sale-of-raw-milk-to-consumers/