Ballerina Farm is the latest manufacturer of raw milk to halt production after reports that its milk failed safety tests. Coliform, a bacteria family that includes E. coli, was found in bottles manufactured in May and June 2025. The company, owned by lifestyle influencers Hannah and Daniel Neeleman, produces its raw milk, among other products, at a small farm in Kamas, Utah, where it also has a farm stand. They also own another farm store in Midway, Utah, but that location reportedly was not selling raw milk.
According to KPCW, Ballerina Farm had to pause production of its raw milk after a routine health inspection by the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food (UDAF). This occurred just a few months after it started selling the raw milk at the Kamas farm stand, and a spokesperson from Ballerina Farm told KPCW that the farm is currently only selling pasteurized milk.
“Producing raw milk takes careful planning from a facility and infrastructure standpoint,” Ballerina Farm said in a statement on Jan. 29, per KPCW. “Unfortunately, we learned this after the fact.”
However, in a statement to People, Daniel Neeleman said Ballerina Farm plans to open a second dairy farm specifically for raw milk products. He emphasized that although coliform was detected in its raw milk, it still passed the daily testing required for sale in Utah.
But that isn't the only recent news surrounding raw milk. On Feb. 3, the New Mexico Department of Health released a warning urging New Mexicans to stop consuming raw dairy products after a newborn died from a Listeria infection believed to be caused by raw milk their mother consumed during pregnancy.
In recent years, there have also been multiple instances of recalls of raw milk and raw pet food due to findings that they contained the bird flu virus.
Health officials have long said that raw milk poses health risks because it has not been pasteurized, a process that uses heat to kill disease-causing germs. However, this hasn't stopped people from continuing to drink it, believing it is "more natural" or "healthier" than commercial milk. We investigate these claims.
Pasteurization kills disease-causing germs in milk, which is why raw, unpasteurized milk can pose health threats. Oliver Strewe/The Image Bank/Getty Images
What is pasteurization?
Pasteurization is a heating process invented in the 1860s by French chemist Louis Pasteur and has been used widely since as a means to kill harmful bacteria and pathogens that can sometimes cause serious illness. These include bacteria that cause illness, such as E. coli, Listeria and Salmonella, and viruses like the H5N1 bird flu.
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