New Mexico
New Mexico warns against consuming raw milk after newborn baby death
Florida mom claims bacteria from raw milk led to her miscarriage
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New Mexico health officials are warning the public to avoid consuming raw dairy products after a newborn baby died from a Listeria infection.
In a news release on Tuesday, Feb. 3, the New Mexico Department of Health said it believes the “most likely source of infection” was unpasteurized milk the baby’s mother consumed while she was pregnant. The state health department did not provide any additional information about the case.
Though investigators cannot identify the exact cause of the infection, the state health department said the “tragic death underscores the serious risks raw dairy poses to pregnant women, young children, elderly New Mexicans and anyone with a weakened immune system.”
“Individuals who are pregnant should only consume pasteurized milk products to help prevent illnesses and deaths in newborns,” Dr. Chad Smelser, deputy state epidemiologist for the New Mexico Department of Health, said in a statement.
The consumption of raw milk and other unpasteurized dairy products can cause serious health risks and be especially dangerous for people with weakened immune systems, according to the Food and Drug Administration.
The majority of commercial dairy products in the United States contain milk or cream that has been pasteurized, the FDA said. Pasteurization is a heat-treatment process in which milk is heated to a high enough temperature to destroy harmful bacteria and pathogens, according to health officials.
“Consumers, particularly those at higher risk, are encouraged to choose pasteurized dairy products to reduce the risk of serious foodborne illness,” Jeff Witte, the secretary of the New Mexico Department of Agriculture, said in a statement.
Risks of consuming raw milk
Raw milk is milk that has not been pasteurized and can be a source of foodborne illness, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While contamination can be reduced, the CDC said there is no guaranteed protection from the harmful germs that could be found in raw milk.
Despite warnings from health experts, raw milk has seen a surge in popularity across the United States in recent years. The rising trend was driven by wellness influencers and raw milk advocates who believe that the pasteurization process destroys bioactives, which are chemicals found in plants and certain foods that promote good health.
Health experts have previously told USA TODAY that the nutritional changes that happen after pasteurization are “extremely minimal.” There are also misconceptions that bacteria content in raw milk is good for your gut, but those ideas are “far-fetched,” according to registered dietitian Jamie Nadeau.
Raw milk can contain “numerous disease-causing germs,” such as Listeria, the New Mexico Department of Health said. Listeria are bacteria that can contaminate many foods and pose a significant risk to pregnant women, newborn babies, adults 65 or older, and people with weakened immune systems, according to the CDC.
The New Mexico Department of Health noted that even if a mother is only mildly ill from an infection, Listeria can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, preterm birth, or a deadly infection in newborn babies. The state health department added that Listeria can also cause serious infections and sometimes death in those with compromised immune systems.
Consuming products with unpasteurized milk can also expose people to other pathogens, including avian influenza, Brucella, Tuberculosis, Salmonella, Campylobacter, Cryptosporidium, and E. coli. Some of these diseases are particularly dangerous for children under 5 and adults over 65, according to the state health department.
“Pasteurized milk offers the same nutritional benefits without the risks of raw milk consumption,” the CDC said, adding that since the early 1900s, pasteurization has led to a drop in milk-borne illnesses.
Recent incidents involving raw milk consumption
Following the outbreak of bird flu and incidents in which people became sick or died, health officials across the country have repeatedly advised the public not to consume raw milk products.
In 2024, the CDC, FDA, and the Department of Agriculture urged the public not to consume raw milk or raw milk products after high levels of the H5N1 bird flu virus had been found in unpasteurized milk.
In August 2025, Florida health officials warned about the dangers of consuming unpasteurized milk after 21 people in the northeast and central parts of the state drank raw milk from the same farm and fell ill. At the time, state health officials said the 21 patients included six children under the age of 10, and at least two suffered “severe complications.”
That same month, a central Florida woman filed a lawsuit against a dairy farm and grocery store for allegedly selling raw milk that caused both her and her toddler to be hospitalized, and led to the death of her unborn baby.
Contributing: Alyssa Goldberg and Saleen Martin, USA TODAY
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — As families across the country gather together to celebrate the 4th of July, one family will reunite for the first time in years in El Paso.
Juan Escobar, an Albuquerque native, will finally be able to celebrate a holiday with his 14-year-old son, Andrew, all thanks to the El Paso Police Department.
Over the last three years, Escobar endured a long-standing search and custody battle over Andrew with his Miriam Felix, Andrew’s mom, which he originally won in 2023.
Not long after that custody victory, Andrew went with Felix for an overnight stay.
He never came home.
Missing posters said Andrew went missing June 25, 2023. He was 11 years old at the time.
Escobar hired a private investigator to uncover Andrew’s whereabouts. Investigation revealed Felix changed her name to Sophie Shelton and changed Andrew’s name to Oliver Shelton. The two reportedly moved to an area near Fort Collins, Colorado.
Suddenly, the case changed from a missing child to an abduction.
Escobar wasn’t able to find Andrew or Felix in Fort Collins.
After years of prayer and searching for answers, Juan received a phone call from El Paso Police last week.
In the call, EPPD said they had Felix in custody and Andrew waiting for him.
Escobar said Andrew told authorities he and his mom traveled to several countries over the three-year period, including Austria, Albania and Turkey.
He reportedly said he went to school online and just finished eighth grade.
However, his father is worried about his mental health.
“Physically, he’s well,” Escobar said. “But he’s just been through so much the last three years emotionally and mentally.”
Escobar told ABC-7 police said Border Patrol identified Andrew as a missing person while he and Felix reportedly crossed into El Paso from Ciudad Juarez, putting both of them into custody.
Escobar told ABC-7 his wife drove him down to El Paso and told him he wasn’t “in the condition to drive.”
He said his first instinct was to hug Andrew, since they used to love wrestling, but was told to give him space instead.
“The reality is that Andrew was an 11-year-old boy that was abducted and was moved across the country, and then moved out of the country and possibly overseas over the last three years,” Escobar said. “He’s a boy right now who has been in flight or fight mode for the last three years.”
Escobar said he’s now investigating how Andrew reportedly traveled around the world without being flagged as a missing person.
He also said he hopes Felix understands the gravity of what she’s done.
“This isn’t just trying to keep a father away from his son. This is breaking local law and breaking international law,” Escobar said. “I’m hopeful she understands what she’s done and she gets the help that she needs.”
Escobar also questioned how Felix afforded international trips.
As Andrew reunites with his father, Escobar has a simple message for parents and families this holiday weekend:
“Do what’s best for your children,” Escobar said. “Because ultimately, they’re what matter the most.”
Escobar said he’s excited to spend the holiday weekend with his son.
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New Mexico State Treasurer Laura Montoya reintroduced baby bonds to legislative teams at a recent conference.
During this conference, Montoya and her team explained what baby bonds would do, what they would mean for New Mexicans and asked for their thoughts and what she could change to help get it passed in the New Mexico Legislature.
Baby bonds are a way for parents to set children up for success later down the line, Montoya said. New Mexico would allocate around $7,000 to each newborn child as part of the bond proposal. The bond would grow over time, and the child would have access to it at age 18. Bonds could be used for a down payment for a car or to pay for parts of school that are not covered by the lottery or opportunity scholarships, buying or renovating a home, or starting a business all withing the state of New Mexico.
Montoya said the funds would not be used for random expenses.
“Now you might be saying, ‘when I was 18 and I would never give myself that money.’ You’re not getting the money directly. So, what happens is it all gets put into a pool of cash that is invested by the State Investment Council. They manage the money and then when you need it, let’s say you’re a student and NMSU gives us an invoice, you say ‘yes, I went to school and NMSU needs to be paid out,’” Montoya said. “Then it goes to the appropriate (agency), whether it’s EFA (Education Freedom Account) or whoever the Legislature designates, will then sign off the check and send it directly to NMSU. So, it’s their money but it isn’t their money.”
Montoya hypothesized on how a bond would benefit a young New Mexican.
“So, you consider an 18-year-old from a working-class family living in Rio Arriba (County), who dreams of attending a four-year college and eventually becoming a nurse. However, achieving this dream would have been difficult given her family’s working-class income. Having a Baby Bond has already made a difference. Research indicates that even small dollar savings accounts with money designated for school results in low-and middle-income children being more likely to enroll in college,” Montoya said.
Montoya said that statistics from the Treasurer’s Office, other state government agencies and pulled from public records to show what a baby bond could do for someone in a low income bracket.
“So, in Rio Arriba only 6% of adults have a degree beyond a bachelor’s degree. Only 7.5% of renters in Rio Arriba are able to afford median home price and baby bonds can contribute to significant decreases in student loan debt especially for women and people of color. You’ll see that same $7,000 she used $13,000 of it for nursing school when she was 18. Then, she still made another $23,000 and she used 30,000 for a home down payment. By the end of it she still had $150,000,” Montoya said.
The children who receive baby bonds would gain access to them only by taking a financial literacy course — or as Montoya calls it financial fitness course. This could be offered through state banks, but she said maybe later down the line it will be offered in kindergarten through grade 12.
“Financial fitness for me is something that I’m very passionate about because I grew up super humble and we didn’t have anyone to teach us what that looked like in having a savings account and investing and so many New Mexicans don’t. So, the one place we can learn this is in our schools, and we need to partner because a lot of our schools don’t have some of that expertise,” she said. “We need to partner with our banks; we need to partner with others that are doing the work already. We don’t need to reinvent the wheel. We just need to bring more people in to partner.”
Department Head and Professor at NMSU Harikuman Sankaran questioned whether the bonds could be used by students already relying on the New Mexico Legislative Lottery Scholarship and New Mexico Opportunity Scholarship. Deputy State Treasurer Ricky Serna said students had the option to access the funds regardless of scholarship awards.
“If I’m a student that says, ‘I live in Albuquerque and I’m going to UNM, I already don’t have to pay tuition and I have a scholarship and now I don’t have to pay for books and fees. Do I have to now wait until I buy a home to access my baby bond?’ Maybe it’s ‘No, I can tell UNM I have enough to put me to work in the school of arts and sciences or put me to work somewhere because I want to use some of my money now, right?’ I think that’s the idea,” Serna said.
Montoya said that this concern would be addressed later to not overcomplicate the bond proposal.
“But that’s something the Legislature can do in the future, too. I mean we have 18 years, so I don’t want to complicate it at this moment. I just want to keep it as simple as possible, but I understand (the concern) of what you’re saying on the long-term investment to have them buy in,” Montoya said.
Montoya said Baby Bonds have the potential to address some of the state’s largest issues – poverty, educational attainment and housing. As the bond recipient gets older it too can ease the burden of housing, retirement and reliance on public assistance.
Children born in New Mexico could access the investment between the ages 18 and 35 to build wealth.
Montoya asked the public to comment on the use of Baby Bonds, an issue the state Legislature will consider in the 2027 Legislative session.
Leighanne Muñoz is the business and development reporter for the Las Cruces Sun-News and is a fellow with the New Mexico Local News Fellowships and Internships Program, which places emerging journalists in newsrooms across New Mexico. Learn more at www.newmexicolocalnewsfellowships.org. Email her at lmunoz@gannett.com.
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