Raw Milk Cheesemakers Work to Sustain Their Ways

Rutland Herald
March 1, 2008
By LISA RATHKE The Associated Press
Original Article Here

GREENSBORO — The path from cow to cheese is short at Jasper Hill Farm.

So short, in fact, that the first gallons of warm, fresh milk already are being curdled into cheese before the last of the small herd of Ayrshire cows has even been milked.

It's that raw, unpasteurized milk that gives the cheesemaker's Constant Bliss and other cheeses their distinctive earthy flavors, flavors that like other farmstead cheeses vary as the seasons change the cows' diets.

But that same milk also could put these cheeses in jeopardy.

Concerns about the safety of some soft cheeses, including those made from unpasteurized milk, have prompted a federal review of the production and sale of mold ripened cheeses such as domestic Bries and Camemberts. It's a move producers fear could stymie the nation's burgeoning industry.

Hoping to head off regulatory changes that could harm business, Jasper Hill's cheesemaker Mateo Kehler and some of the nation's other roughly 170 raw milk cheesemakers formed the Raw Milk Cheesemakers' Association.

The group, which says it shares the same goals as federal officials, is developing a standardized process for regulating the production of raw milk cheeses similar to those used in the European Union, which are based on milk quality and environmental monitoring.

"We wanted to make sure that there was a core group of raw milk cheese producers that were doing absolutely everything they could to further ensure the safety of raw milk cheese," says Cary Bryant, president of the association and co-owner of Rogue Creamery in Central Point, Ore.

While not overtly targeting raw-milk cheeses, the effort by the Food and Drug Administration is looking at how to prevent listeria contamination in certain cheeses, including those processed from raw milk.

Listeria, which also can contaminate deli meats, smoked seafood and hot dogs, can kill infants and people with weakened immune systems. It also can cause miscarriages.

While pasteurization will destroy listeria bacteria, producers of raw milk cheese say pasteurized milk produces cheeses that lack much of the nuance and flavor of those made with raw milk.

"Can you make a great pasteurized cheese? Yeah," Kehler said. "But you lose what's unique and local about a product when you pasteurize it."

Part of the review will focus on how long raw-milk cheeses must be aged before being brought to market. Federal regulations require 60 days.

FDA spokesman Michael Herndon says that standard — set in 1977 — was based on science that indicated it was sufficient time for any pathogens present during manufacturing to perish.

Now officials are rethinking that, wondering whether 60 days really is long enough. Federal officials won't say what, if any, changes are planned, except that it will develop a model for the production of soft-ripened cheeses. They plan to take public comment on their assessment next year.

But Catherine Donnelly, co-director of the Vermont Institute of Artisan Cheese at the University of Vermont, says longer aging could actually make soft-ripened cheeses more, not less, hospitable for pathogens such as listeria.

Donnelly, who has studied the safety of raw-milk cheeses, said even the current FDA policy is outdated, and was created when the country was producing mostly cheddar cheese and worried about salmonella.

It's more important to focus on raw milk quality and keeping production facilities clean, she said.

And cheesemakers fear longer aging, saying it can cause some soft cheeses to break down in texture and flavor. Some cheeses will become bitter and unpalatable.

Some of the world's most popular cheeses are made from raw milk, and imported to the United States, such as Roquefort and Parmigiano, which are aged longer (and therefore are considered safer). But outbreaks of listeria mostly have been linked to soft cheeses, particularly illicitly produced Mexican-style cheeses made with contaminated raw milk, Donnelly said.

"It's everything. It's how clean you keep your animals. It's your milking protocol. It's how you maintain your equipment, how you clean your equipment," said Andy Kehler, Mateo Kehler's brother and business partner.

As proof, Mateo Kehler notes that recent testing of their dairy's raw milk found fewer than 100 organisms per milliliter, lower than the standard for pasteurized milk in the supermarket, he said.

The risk isn't in the product itself, but in how it is handled, said Steve Getz, who with his wife produces three raw-milk cheeses at their Dancing Cow Farm in Bridport.

The risk comes when the milk isn't harvested properly, he said. "The bottom line with raw milk is this, it can be medicinal or it can be poison."