In many states the sales of raw milk to the general public is completely illegal however in states where it is legal there is a lot of controversy about the regulations behind Raw Milk Safety and Sales to the general public. If you are a farm owner and you produce milk for your own consumption then it is your duty to do so in a safe manner so your family and any visitors will not get sick. If you are someone selling Raw Milk to the general public then that duty escalates because your customers are expecting you to provide a product that is safe to consume.
For the past few years an Amish Farmer in Pennsylvania has felt that he has been unfairly targeted by the regulations around Raw Milk and Cheese Production. A lot of people have come to his defense and maybe they are right but the fact is the regulations in Pennsylvania to Produce Raw Milk for sale are extremely easy to comply with.
Lets take a look at some of the regulations found in Pennsylvania so you can understand the rules that are in place are really for the best interest of the consumer. Like we said other states are different and they may completely outlaw the sale of unpasteurized milk, cheese and other products for human consumption.
The Permitting Process For Raw Milk
The permitting process for raw milk is no different than that for pasteurized milk producers. Your facilities must undergo an inspection that also requires testing of your milk before you can sell it. Your permit is renewed every year in the month of September. You are required to keep records and submit them or have your veterinarian submit them to the state.
Inspection Of The Facilities
Dairy farm water supply tested and provide the water is bacteriologically safe. Keep Records for 1 Year.
Inspection Of General Milkhouse Construction Safety and Cleanliness.
Provide a Toilet and Handwashing Facilities
Inspect Cleaning of Equipment
Inspect Chemical Control To Prevent Contamination
Raw milk packaging must be performed in a sanitary manner separate from the Milking area. Bottling and Capping will be performed in a location other than the milk room. Containers must be sanitized and caps must be applied without hand contact with the inner surfaces of the containers. Sanitation of returned containers will happen in a room other than the bottling room.
Testing Of The Animals
Every cow must be tested for and be free of tuberculosis and brucellosis.
Testing of the Milk During Production
Bacterial count twice a month
Coliform count twice a month
Somatic cell count twice a month
Test for presence of drugs twice a month
Test for Salmonellae, Listeria, Camphylobacter and E. Coli every 6 months.
Test for Pesticide Residue
Raw Milk shall be cooled to 4° C (40° F) within 2 hours after the completion of milking.
If the milk fails testing at any time it must pass two consecutive tests taken 1 day apart before it can be sold again.
Controversy Over Raw Milk Production
As you can see the regulations in Pennsylvania are relatively basic. They are in place to ensure the health of the population and any dairy farmer should be willing to go much farther to produce a quality safe product.
It requires initial inspection of your facilities to ensure you are competent.
That housing, milking and bottling procedures are in separate locations to ensure hygiene.
That your animals are tested for tuberculosis and brucellosis.
That your milk is tested for deadly bacteria, pesticides and drugs used to treat the animal’s health.
That you keep records of all the testing.
The controversy comes about storing the milk in a safe way.
Amish Dairy Farmers do not like the use of electricity to refrigerate their milk below 40F.
As a standard Amish people do not like the use of electricity however there are often convoluted work around systems that they put in place such as hiring refrigerated container trucks owned by other people to store perishable food instead of building a permanent facility that they own.
This may be their choice but doing so does not comply with law when the law says you must keep the milk at 40F within 2 hours of milking because those refrigerated tractor trailers do not have the ability to ensure proper storage methods.
This is because when milk is cooled after milking it goes through a quick cooling process using special equipment before it is stored and this equipment is not the same as just transferring bottled milk into either a permanent refrigerator or a tractor trailer.
Its like baking a lasagna and taking it from your oven and putting it in your refrigerator and expecting it to cool off to 40F or less in under 2 hours. Its just not going to work well especially when you are talking about hundreds and thousands of gallons of milk.
Other farmers that can comply with normal refrigeration and processing standards to store the milk at 40F within 2 hours of milking do not have this problem. They can apply for a permit and produce and sell the milk and cheese without issue.
Final Note
The processing of any food product for sale must be done in a safe manner. The precautions that states require of dairy farms are actually very minimal but if you can not comply with them then you shouldn’t be selling these food products to the general public.
On the other hand regulations of how you milk your personal animals and consume your personal foods are much less. You just can’t sell it to the General Public.
Raw Milk has been proven to have some benefits however there is also proof that humans should not be consuming the milk of another species such as a cow, sheep or goat. Whether you choose to consume this product or whether you want to produce it for sale it is your duty to research every aspect and not just the basic laws concerning its sale. You should never be putting others at risk and you should inform your customer of everything that you do during the production process or find another way to make a living.