Raw milk sales would be outlawed in North Carolina under the state Senate’s annual farm act. Currently, unpasteurized milk can only be sold for pet consumption. But state Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler, a longtime critic of raw milk, says it’s even more dangerous now because it may contain bird flu, giving the virus more opportunities to mutate and transmit among people.
"Now we’ve got E. coli, salmonella, listeria and high-path avian influenza that can be present. So it is time to make sure that people are drinking pasteurized milk, and we have pasteurized milk for a reason," he said.
The farm act has passed one Senate committee but must be approved by three more before reaching the Senate floor.