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Public health and dairy industry urge caution on raw‑milk expansion amid H5N1 concerns
Summary
Industry and local public‑health officials told the committee they oppose loosening raw‑milk sales rules now, arguing HPAI detection in lactating cattle, risks to vulnerable populations, and the potential for consumer confidence losses make expanded distribution premature without stronger guardrails.
Denver — As Colorado confronts H5N1 detections in dairy herds, the committee heard competing perspectives on raw‑milk policy with both the dairy industry and public‑health representatives urging caution about expanding consumer access.
Brock Herzberg, executive director of Colorado Dairy Farmers, said the state’s producers have relied on prompt and private coordination with the Department of Agriculture and CDPHE during the HPAI response and that some producers remain reluctant to report disease for fear of financial loss. He said raw‑milk expansion could increase consumer distrust of the milk supply if outbreaks are publicized, harming the broader pasteurized market and farmer incomes. Herzberg noted Colorado’s existing cow‑share structure confines raw‑milk pickup to the production site and emphasized that prior raw‑milk legislation in 2024 was negotiated with industry and regulators.
Representatives of the Colorado Association of Local Public Health — Jason Bolling and Kimberly Baker — summarized why they opposed the 2024 bill (SB24‑43). They cited CDC analysis showing higher rates of foodborne outbreaks in jurisdictions with looser raw‑milk rules, warned that vulnerable groups (young children, the elderly, immunocompromised people) would face elevated risk, and said the 2024 proposal lacked sufficient proactive inspection, traceability and consumer‑education guardrails. The public‑health speakers also pointed to the H5N1 link to unpasteurized milk as an added reason to postpone expansion while the dairy outbreak is active.
Committee members asked for clarification on Colorado’s current legal framework. Panelists explained that Colorado permits raw‑milk consumption now through a cow‑share program that requires consumers to pick up milk at the production site; broader point‑of‑sale or farmer‑market distribution would represent an expansion from current law. Bolling and Baker said outbreaks are likely underreported and that public‑health agencies lack unfunded capacity to respond to expanded distribution without additional resources.
What happens next: Panelists offered to provide outbreak and illness data to the committee on request and agreed to continue technical conversations with lawmakers about oversight features, inspection protocols and education campaigns should lawmakers revisit raw‑milk proposals.
