A Legal History of Raw Milk in the United States.

This article offers a legal history of raw milk in the United States. The author journeys from the late 19th century, when milk safety was a public health challenge, to today. Urban areas were the first to act on milk safety and by the 1920s, milk regulations had reached every part of the country. In 1987, the Food and Drug Administration published a final regulation mandating the pasteurization of all milk and milk products in final package form for direct human consumption. Despite this, the sale of raw milk is still legal in half the states and outbreaks of E. coli, Salmonella and Campylobacter infections still occur.