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Are raw-milk cheeses healthful? Recent findings of Listeria monocytogenes, the bacteria that causes Listeria, in cheeses from Montesano, Washington's Estrella Family Creamery in Missouri's Morningland Dairy unequivocally suggest the contrary. Both dairies, which were inspected by FDA (Food and Drug Administration) officials within the past few months, are going to have a particularly hard time defending their raw-milk cheeses, especially since it's just the latest raw-milk scare. Just last week, health officials found 25 E. coli O157:H7 infections linked to Bravo Farms' raw-milk Gouda being sold at Costco stores in Colorado.
When it comes to raw-milk, the conflict between cheesemakers and the FDA is not new. Many cheesemakers view the FDA as an organization of government officials with little or no experience on dairies. Sunday, the Pacific Northwest Cheese Project released a series of cheesemakers' reactions to the recent recalls of raw-milk cheese. One of them states, anonymously, of course, "I am concerned about any potential surprise investigations, because the investigators usually don't have any experience with farms at all," the cheesemaker told the Cheese Project. "The ones who recently visited here had never even been on a farm before; not a good thing in my opinion." Apart from revealing the incompetence of the FDA, their anonymous responses indicate that the health risks do not involve raw-milk, on its own.
"It is definitely possible to make [raw-milk cheese] safely, but you need very good controls all the way through the process," says another anonymous cheesemaker. "I think you would need to have your own milk supply and the raw-milk supply must be of top quality." Unfortunately, the FDA is not offering any advice as to how the cheesemaking process needs to be perfected.
Clearly, raw-milk cheeses are not inherently dangerous. Otherwise, most French people, who eat raw-milk cheeses on a regular basis, would be suffering from Listeria. The dangers have to do with its handling -- leaving it out in the wrong temperature and being handled by too many people in different environments. Even the FDA is starting to question the law that states that raw-milk cheeses must be aged over 60 days in order to be sold, legally. "In fact, scientists have since shown that some pathogens -- strains of Salmonella, Listeria and E. coli -- can survive in cheese beyond 60 days," says Janet Fletcher. Fletcher suggests that the FDA may be going after the wrong ingredient: "One recent study of European washed-rind cheeses found almost twice as much Listeria in the pasteurized samples than in the raw-milk samples."
The ACS (the American Cheese Society) informed us that they will release a statement about safe cheesemaking in the next day or so. Instead of focusing on raw-milk and the 60 day rule, the FDA should come up with clear guidelines for cheese handling and find a way to enforce them. After all, those of us who relish the taste of Vacherin Mont d'Or or Brie de Meaux, couldn't imagine a world without raw-milk.
Cheese enthusiasts have long lauded the benefits of raw-milk, from its rich, complex and creamier taste to its healthful enzymes. This past June, the FDA raided Venice, California, grocery store Rawsome Foods and found illegal cheeses from Morningland Dairy. (Check out Stephen Colbert's hilarious parody of the raid.) Hopefully, the recent health problems involving raw-milk cheeses from Morningland Dairy, Estrella Family Creamery and Bravo Farms will persuade health officials to reexamine the causes of harmful bacteria so that we can reap the same culinary benefits that the French have been enjoying for centuries.
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11-11-2010 @1:07PM verdegrrl said... If other markets are not seeing the numbers of illness, then they must be doing something right. Maybe it's time to look to them rather than try to reinvent something that doesn't need reinventing?
I grew up on a farm where we consumed large quantities of unpasteurized goat and cow dairy products. Nobody ever was ill. We immediately and thoroughly washed (in extremely hot water) all items that might come in contact with the milk.
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11-11-2010 @3:05PM Steve said... Listeria Monocytogenes is not, in small doses, lethal to humans. The FDA's zero-tolerance policy towards Listeria Monocytogenes is not an accurate reflection of our scientific knowledge on the bacteria.
Neither Montesano, Washington's Estrella Family Creamery, or Missouri's Morningland Dairy have had any reported cases of infection from people eating their cheese.
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11-12-2010 @2:10PM Bill said... The FDA should do what is done here in Ireland for raw milk cheeses: slap a warning label on them and be done with it. Raw milk cheese is an amazing, wonderful thing. I don't want to live in a country where you can't buy Brie de Meaux, raw milk Comté or Reblochon.
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11-16-2010 @2:55AM Pauline Torrence said... Raw milk cheese isn't dangerous nor is raw milk dangerous. My family and I have been using raw dairy products for two years now and not one time have we had an incident of illness. We live in Pennsylvania and there are a multitude of organic farmers who provide raw dairy products. Before using raw dairy products, I suffered with lactose problems to the point of avoiding dairy all together. Now I don't have that problem anymore. We found out that skim milks and low fat milks that have been ultra-pasteurized and homogenized does not have all of the nutrients that raw milk possesses. I need to emphasize raw milk from grass-fed cows only. We also found that these low fat milks and skim milks contained MSG. My son and I are allergic to MSG. Many people are fooled by the propaganda that raw dairy products are unsafe, but everyone forgets why pasteurization was needed in the first place. It was needed because there wasn't a way to properly refrigerate milk during those times. It was a temporary solution until the refrigeration process was perfected. Now that we can properly store milk and keep it cool we no longer need that process. I am sorry but the FDA is wrong. I strongly urge that you research the benefits of raw dairy products. You will be so amazed in what you will discover. By the way, dairy farmers who provide raw milk from grass-fed cows call supermarket processed milk "white water." That says it all.
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11-18-2010 @6:31AM Debbi Baron said... Raw milk cheeses are a way of life here in French. Any farmer or dairyman will tell you that without proper hygiene in the handling of the milk and the production as well as the transport and handling are critical to producing raw milk cheeses. The only cases of Listeriosis found in this country have been traced back to cheese produced with pasturized milk in large plants by large argro producers.
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12-29-2010 @10:06AM Neville McNaughton said... The Raw Milk Industry needs to look at its self in a modern context and some minimum standards of performance. From warning labels to more regulation at the end of the day cheese will not be allowed be a delivery system for pathogens. Very few smaller cheesemakers spend much money on proving there products to be safe, it should be required. The proactive cheesemaker would know where the risks were and deal with them. There are many pitfalls in cheese production, many of them built in due to the legacy of pasteurization being required, only more education will assist cheesemakers to be better.
The call should not be to the FDA but to the industry to come together and show that they can produce safe cheese. I believe there is a role for consumers here. The cost to produce small production products such as cheese is high, profit margins are low and this is a barrier in many cases to excellence. If the consumer base would step up and assist in funding education the benefits could be profound.
Its not just cheese but all naturally fermented products may be under threat.
It is possible to make the case that those who benefit from this industry should fund it, not the government. We are a small and economically insignificant sector, that doesn't mean we are not significant, we represent sustainability, possibly superior nutrition, we are diversity, we should not be crushed by those that do not appreciate what we do.
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