July 20, 2020

Spain plans to regulate sale of raw milk

Unpasteurised or raw milk can be sold on the market without restriction on volume in Spain, in accordance with European regulations, unlike some countries in the continent, such as France, Italy, Austria, Finland Latvia and Scotland, where sales are either managed or banned.

Now, Spanish government scientists are proposing additional requirements for the marketing of raw milk, such as mandatory packaging and labelling of raw milk, reports Food Safety News.

The Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition's (AESAN) scientific committee recommends that raw milk up for sale should be labelled thus: "Raw milk without thermal treatment: boil before consumption" and "Maintain refrigerated at temperatures between 1 and 4 degrees C (34 to 39 degrees F)", according to the report.

"It is recommended that a warning be included in the label, to avoid that consuming raw milk without following the measures required poses a health risk," the committee explained.

The committee also recommended a shelf life of three days and establishing microbiological criteria that covers absence of Campylobacter, E. coli O157, Listeria monocytogenes and salmonella in 25 millilitres in five units that make up a sample.

The proposals will be incorporated into a draft law, as per report.

The committee said the proposed criteria are focused on the main microbiological risks linked to foodborne diseases from the consumption of raw milk in the last few years in Europe. "The sampling plan and proposed limits lead to a low prevalence of said pathogens in the product. In the case of large batches, a sampling could be carried out for each batch", it said.