Health risks of consuming unboiled raw milk often underestimated

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Reviewed

BfR Federal Institute for Risk AssessmentOct 10 2025

What it's about:

Raw milk (untreated milk) enjoys a certain popularity, but poses health risks. To avoid food poisoning, it should be boiled before drinking. But how well is raw milk actually known among the population? How do people perceive its health risk? Two-thirds of those surveyed had already heard of raw milk. Only ten percent expressed concern, making raw milk the topic of least concern of the risks surveyed. This is according to the BfR Consumer Monitor, a regularly conducted representative survey by the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR). "The health risks of raw milk are underestimated," explains BfR President Professor Andreas Hensel. "It can transmit pathogens. Particularly sensitive population groups such as children, pregnant women, the elderly and sick people should generally avoid unboiled raw milk." However, even healthy adults face an increased risk of mild to severe food poisoning when consuming unboiled raw milk, depending on the pathogen. Like approved food dyes and mercury in fish, raw milk was a topic covered by the BfR Consumer Monitor for the first time.

"In your opinion, what are the greatest health risks in everyday life, for example in relation to food, personal care products, clothing or toys?" Public opinion is consistent on this open-ended question. The most frequently mentioned are usually undesirable substances (such as "chemicals" or "pollutants", accounting for 41 percent of responses). These are followed by plastics (17 percent), food additives (10 percent), certain nutrients such as fat, sugar or salt (10 percent), and unhealthy diet and lifestyles (10 percent).

"How concerned are you personally about the following consumer health issues?" Among the predefined response options, the topic of "microplastics in food" leads the way (67 percent very concerned, 15 percent moderately concerned), followed by "antibiotic resistance" (63 percent and 15 percent, respectively) and "pesticide residues in food" (50 percent and 20 percent, respectively). Here, too, the views of those surveyed remain largely unchanged.

In addition, for the first time, the current survey asked about overconsumption rather than insufficient intake of vitamins and minerals. The latest data shows that 26 percent feel well informed about excessive intake of vitamins and minerals, while in the previous survey 37 percent of respondents felt well informed about insufficient intake.