August 12, 2011

US unprocessed milk standards increase

Six states of the US have accepted more stringent standards to control the amount of bacteria present in raw milk.

Federal law prohibits the sale of raw milk from state to state, but allows states to regulate its sale within their borders.

Thirty states allow some sort of raw milk sales, 13 restrict sales to the farm, 12 allow for retail sales, and the other five have a combination of regulations.

The lack of retail availability of raw milk has led consumers to flock to so-called herd shares, where small-scale, unlicensed farmers sell raw milk to friends and neighbours. They split ownership, because an animal's owner can legally drink its raw milk without state inspections.

Several states have cracked down on herd shares.

As in Europe, the US dairy industry has concerns that raw milk can give all milk a bad image.