Officials in New Mexico are warning state residents to avoid consuming raw dairy products following the death of a newborn from a Listeria infection.

The New Mexico Department of Heath (NM Health) says the infant’s source of infection was likely unpasteurized, or “raw,” milk consumed by the infant’s mother in pregnancy. Pregnant women, young children, and the elderly are especially susceptible to severe Listeria infections. 

Individuals who are pregnant should only consume pasteurized milk products to help prevent illnesses and deaths in newborns.

"Individuals who are pregnant should only consume pasteurized milk products to help prevent illnesses and deaths in newborns,” said Chad Smelser, MD, deputy state epidemiologist for NM Health, in a press release.

Raw milk is any milk that has not been pasteurized, or heated quickly to a temperature that kills germs. In addition to Listeria, raw milk can contain pathogens such as Brucella, tuberculosis-causing bacteria, Salmonella, Campylobacter, Cryptosporidium, E coli, and even avian flu viruses.

“New Mexico’s dairy producers work hard to provide safe, wholesome products, and pasteurization is a vital part of that process,” said Jeff M. Witte, New Mexico’s secretary of agriculture. “Consumers, particularly those at higher risk, are encouraged to choose pasteurized dairy products to reduce the risk of serious foodborne illness.”

Raw milk has been regularly touted for its purported health benefits by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., though food safety experts and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warn it carries great risk. 

In other foodborne illness news, in an interview with Bloomberg yesterday, Kyle Diamantas, deputy commissioner for human foods at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said the agency will test ingredients such as milk powder and whey protein concentrate as well as infant formula to help determine whether there is contamination that could lead to botulism poisoning. 

This decision comes in the wake of the ByHeart infant formula outbreak, which has sickened at least 51 infants, all of whom have been hospitalized. 

Diamantas said the testing will help determine whether contamination that could lead to botulism is “a foreseeable hazard that companies could test for.”

No deaths were reported in the ByHeart outbreak, but babies who ingested spores via the formula experienced difficulty feeding, lethargy, and loss of head control. 

According to the CDC, no new cases have been reported in that outbreak since December of last year.