"rawmilk" news and stories

The world is once again safe for stinky cheeses. At least for now.

Cheese traditionalists have won their battle to make Camembert makers use unpasteurized milk to obtain the prestigious AOC label.

This puts an end to the so-called "Camembert War," fought over the past year, between local producers and two multinational companies, who were concerned that the use of raw milk carried too much risk of e-coli potential. Litigation is expensive these days, you know.

The local cheesemakers, however, being French, were livid at the mere suggestion of a change in process. Only lait cru (raw milk) could be used to make traditional Camembert, (and only from local cows!) because it introduced flavors that connected the cheese to its local soil. It's all in keeping with the original recipe, they argued, which was received by a Camembert woman, Marie Harel in 1791, in exchange for hiding a priest on the run from French revolutionaries.

The use of pasteurized milk would make Camembert inauthentic, they said, which would threaten its Appelation D'Origine Controlle (AOC) distinction. That's the stamp of authenticity cheese purists and foodies around the world look for when buying Camembert and other regional products.

The French governing body that controls the AOC will formerly approve the rule in coming months, according to press accounts.

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My mom used to buy raw milk when I was a kid, until her step-father (who was a scientist) bombarded her with information about how she was putting our health at risk by allowing us to drink it. While she never totally bought his argument, the mere chance that she could possibly be endangering us was enough to convince her to end our raw milk days.

Last Friday the California Department of Food and Agriculture issued a recall of Organic Pastures Dairy Co. cream despite the fact that there are no reported incidents of illness linked to that product at this time. This is not the first time that state health officials have recalled Organic Pastures products. A year ago to the month they issued a similar recall. Raw milk producers and consumers are crying foul, protesting that the state is simply trying to shut down the raw milk industry. Health officials state that they issued the recall in the best interests of the consumers. Admittedly, the tests showed signs of listeria, but representatives from the dairy said that it was only present after nine days of testing. Another battle in the raw milk war, it will be interesting to see how this one works out. (For a more complete discussion of this issue, check out this post on The Complete Patient).

Via the Ethicurean

If you've thrown out all your fresh spinach, make room in the dumpster for raw milk. California has just issued a recall of raw, unpasteurized milk products from Fresno-based company Organic Pastures. The recall of all of the company's milk items, with the exception of butter and cheese, comes after four children became seriously ill after consuming them. Tests from all four children, one who drank colostrum and three who drank raw milk, tested positive for the presence of bacteria 0157:H7, which is the same type of E. coli responsible for contamination of spinach, but a different strain.

A bill passed a legislative committee on Tuesday that would make the sale of raw, unpasteurized milk legal in the state of Utah, according to an article in The Salt Lake Tribune. If it goes through, Utahns (yes, Utahns) could soon be able to purchase the highly-coveted dairy product in retail stores. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Brad Johnson, R-Aurora, who is also a rancher.

The Utah Dairyman's Association opposes the bill, however, for fear of possible health issues associated with unpasteurized milk. They feel that if an illness were to result from a problem with raw milk, consumers and the media would fail to differentiate between raw (unpasteurized) and pasteurized, leaving the entire industry to suffer.

The Utah Public Health Association opposes the bill as well, for fear of shouldering the financial burdens they say may accompany public illness due to tainted milk.