South Dakota Agriculture Secretary Lucas Lentsch has been working with an interim study committee looking at rules for raw milk sales and consumption.
Lentsch says in South Dakota it’s a matter of choice as to whether a person decides to consume raw milk. He says safety standards are also in place to inform the public about the product.
Lentsch says he recognizes facts brought forward by a Centers for Disease Control study on raw milk and illnesses associated with it. He says many protections are in place in South Dakota and the state’s rules on it are not being relaxed.
The CDC study indicated that in states where raw milk rules were relaxed between 2007 and 2012, the amount of food borne illness outbreaks related to it averaged 13 a year, up from an average of 3 a year between 1993 and 2006.