Ballerina Farm, the farm and influencer brand run by Hannah Neeleman, has suspended sales of its raw milk after Utah health inspectors found elevated levels of bacteria.
The pause comes less than a year after Neeleman publicly announced plans to sell unpasteurized milk, a move critics warned was risky from the start.
Raw milk meets reality
The Neelemans began selling raw milk from their new Kamas Valley farm stand in 2025. Hannah, a mother of eight, has long touted the supposed benefits of raw milk, even posting a TikTok in which she is seen feeding her children milk directly from a cow's udders as early as 2023.
But almost just as soon as the family began to sell their milk, they were forced to stop.
Local NPR outlet KPCW obtained reports from the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food that found two serious health code violations last summer. The most notable was the discovery of high levels of coliform bacteria, which includes E. coli in its family.
According to Utah's dairy program manager, Ballerina Farm "made the decision" to switch back to selling pasteurized milk only.
PEOPLE further reported that Neeleman's representatives said the raw milk "did indeed pass the necessary tests to be sold in the state of Utah."
That detail is perhaps more troubling than the fact that Ballerina Farm was selling a potentially dangerous food product.
"Producing raw milk takes careful planning from a facility and infrastructure standpoint," said husband Daniel Neeleman in a statement issued on Jan. 29, 2026. "Unfortunately, we learned this after the fact."
"The way our dairy was built is ideal for pasteurized dairy products. We do plan in the future to construct a second dairy made specifically for raw milk products. The state of Utah requires daily testing and any Raw Milk sold from our stand passed."
Days after Neeleman put out this statement, the New Mexico Department of Health warned against consuming raw milk products after the death of a newborn. The officials concluded that the child died from a listeria infection likely caused by their mother drinking raw milk while pregnant.
Social media reacts to Ballerina Farm's raw milk snafu
Even under the current administration, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warns about the dangers of drinking raw milk. The department's website says that the CDC linked 202 outbreaks between 1998 and 2018 to raw milk that caused 2,645 illnesses and 228 hospitalizations.
The right-wing embrace of this beverage despite the warnings has become another political flashpoint in recent years. Those left of center are taking Ballerina Farm's recent statement not so much as a win, but a signal that they were at least correct on the topic.
"Honestly I’m glad this is happening," said Redditor u/west-brompton. "Not that I want anyone’s business to suffer but the raw milk wave happening in the MAHA movement needs this wake up call."
Some were less forgiving about it than others.
"If only we had some way to rid raw milk of bacteria in a super safe and convenient way…idk maybe they could boil it or something…just spit balling here guys," joked u/Jasminewindsong2.
There were also mentions of the fact that the only way a family business could afford to make such a dangerous mistake is if they had a massive airline fortune to hold them up.
"They didn’t do their due diligence because they’re arrogant and not very bright," wrote u/fungibitch. "To a normal farming family, this kind of error would mean financial ruin."
"You mean the Jet Blue heir and a prima ballerina shouldn't open a raw milk dairy based on vibes?" asked u/fairmaiden34.
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