If cheese made from raw milk is outlawed, only outlaws will have raw milk cheese

Federal regulators are considering new rules for cheese made with unpasteurized milk, but some cheesemakers and food enthusiasts worry the rules will hurt the cheese's taste while not markedly improving safety. "The new proposals, which are expected in the next several months, come after a very tough year for this country’s fast-growing gourmet cheese industry, marked by recalls and two multistate E. coli outbreaks that sickened nearly 50 people," William Neuman of The New York Times reports. The federal rule at the center of the debate would require cheese made from raw milk to be aged for 60 days before it is deemed safe to eat. (Photo by Los Angeles Times of raw milk cheese in process)

"Scientists have found, however, that 60 days of aging is an overly simplistic guideline, in part because there are so many types of cheese and different ones may require different safeguards," Neuman writes. The Food and Drug Administration began its review of the rule in 2009, and agency officials told Neuman the review was complete but was waiting approval before release. "The FDA has not tipped its hand, but some in the industry fear that raw milk cheese could be banned altogether or that some types of cheese deemed to pose a higher safety risk could no longer be made with raw milk," Neuman writes.

Others fear the waiting period may be extended to 90 days, which could "make it difficult or impossible for cheesemakers to continue using raw milk for some popular cheese styles, like blue cheese or taleggio-type cheeses, that may not lend themselves to such lengthy aging," Neuman writes. Liz Thorpe, a vice president of Murray’s Cheese, a Manhattan retailer where about half the cheese is made with raw milk, told Neuman, "A very important and thriving section of the American agricultural scene is in danger of being compromised or put out of business if the 60-day minimum were to be raised or if raw milk cheeses were to be entirely outlawed." (Read more)

In late January, U.S. marshals and Food and Drug Administration agents "busted outlaws they describe as pale-skinned and somewhat smelly, with mug shots worthy of Bon Appetit: 97 wedges of raw-milk Gouda cheese," writes P.J. Huffstutter for the Los Angeles Times. More than 80,000 pounds of cheese were seized from Bravo Farms after cheese from the farm was connected to 38 people becoming ill. Of 147 samples taken from Bravo Farms cheese, one tested positive for E. coli and 32 tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes, a pathogen that can be fatal to children and the elderly, according to federal court documents and an FDA inspection report. Bravo is now using pasteurized milk. The FDA began testing for listeria at small farms making artisan cheeses because the federal government has a zero-tolerance policy in ready-to-eat products, according to Huffstutter.  (Read more)