On July 1, Iowa officially became one of more than two dozen states that have legalized the sale of raw milk, or milk that has not been pasteurized. Over the past decade, a growing number of states have made raw milk more accessible, said Dennis D’Amico, an associate professor of animal science at the University of Connecticut. Some of those states, including Iowa, allow raw milk producers to sell their products directly to consumers; others allow grocery stores to sell such products, and some states allow raw milk to be sold only as pet food. But federal health experts have linked those new laws with increasing food-borne illness outbreaks associated with raw milk. Between 2013 and 2018, the agency reported, states that had legalized the sale of raw milk at retail stores had three times as many outbreaks as states that prohibited such sales.

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Persons: Dennis D’Amico Organizations: University of Connecticut, Centers for Disease Control, Prevention Locations: Iowa, United States