'Raw Milk' Bill Canned In House Agriculture Committee

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana lawmakers have killed an attempt to lift the state's ban on sales of unpasteurized — or "raw" — milk for the third year in a row.

The House agriculture committee narrowly voted to halt Ville Platte Sen. Eric LaFleur's proposal to allow limited sales of raw milk from farmers to the public. Lawmakers on the panel voted 8-7 Thursday against the Senate-backed measure.

The Democratic senator argued his "freedom of choice" bill curbed any risk with pages of regulations.

But Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain and Louisiana's chief health officer Jimmy Guidry countered it would threaten public safety because the milk isn't heated in a process to kill harmful bacteria.

Others echoed the concern, comparing feeding children raw milk to handing them cow manure patties.

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Senate Bill 29: www.legis.la.gov