June 25, 2008
Black milk proposal gets shot down by North Carolina committee
A committee of North Carolina's state legislature has approved the plan to allow special labels for raw milk to state that it was not to be for human consumption in place of an earlier rule to dye it charcoal so it would appear unpalatable to children.
An earlier rule by the Board of Agriculture plan in September required raw milk to be fed to animals to be dyed gray to differentiate it from those normally consumed by humans. A gray colour was presumed to carry sufficient warning to children that the milk is not to be drunk.
Raw milk, being unpasteurized, is considered unsafe for children.
North Carolina law prohibits the sale of raw milk for human consumption, but the product can be sold for pets and animal use. Farmers, zookeepers and pet owners, feed their animals raw milk.
However, because the products look similar, the state's Board of Agriculture in September passed a rule requiring all raw milk sold in-state to be dyed charcoal to make sure children would be turned off by the colour.
However, farmers have protested, saying there are no suitable organic dyes that can be added to milk to make it turn to charcoal and are worried that if it turns off children, it would turn off animals too.
This week, the House panel approved a plan from Rep. Pricey Harrison, D-Guilford, that would require two warning labels to be placed on all raw milk containers. One would warn that the product is not to be consumed by people, while the other would explain that it's illegal to sell raw milk for human consumption in North Carolina.
Harrison said labels will offer the same safety protections as the dyeing mandate, which she said was "heavy handed."
Harrison's bill now heads to the full House for consideration.