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New state rules crack down on raw dairy products

January 23, 2005 1:09 am

Fauquier County goat farmer Mary vanderWoude Hill has been drinking raw milk for most of her 73 years.

But new state regulations signed into law by Gov. Mark Warner could make that a crime.

Beginning Wednesday, the state will require that all dairy products produced in Virginia--not just those from cow's milk--be pasteurized. The new regulations also require anyone manufacturing dairy products to obtain a license from the state, which may force some farmers to make costly upgrades in buildings and equipment.

The new law, written by the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, has upset groups across the state. They say the change unfairly hurts small farmers and organic-food lovers.

Hill, who came to America from Holland in the 1950s, compares it to what was going on in Europe when she was a child.

"This is worse than the Gestapo," said the grandmother, who drinks her own goat's milk. She's had run-ins with the state in the past for selling goat's milk from her farm for pet use.

"They can't tell you what you can and cannot eat or drink. It's none of their business what people do with their milk," Hill said.

The sale of raw cow's milk and products made from it has been banned in the state since 1986. The change expands the law to cover dairy products from goats, sheep and other animals.

Officials say the change is needed to protect public health. They say the law is intended to govern the sale of milk products, not consumption.

VDACS program supervisor John Beers, who helped draft the law, said it is based on guidelines from the federal Food and Drug Administration and Department of Agriculture. At least 21 other states also ban the sale of raw milk products.

"The health commissioner and most health guidelines call for pasteurization," said Ellen Qualls, Warner's press secretary.

Several groups have lined up to oppose the change. They include the Virginia State Dairy Goat Association; the Virginia Independent Consumers and Farmers Association, a Charlottesville-based nonprofit founded three years ago to protect consumer and farmer interests; and the Weston A. Price Foundation, a nonprofit in Washington "dedicated to restoring nutrient-dense foods to the human diet."

Opponents say there is no proof that drinking raw milk is unsafe, and that some studies suggest it may actually be healthier than pasteurized products. They note that there have been no reported illnesses due to raw milk in Virginia.

The opponents also say the law is too vague and leaves open the possibility that merely drinking raw milk from cows or goats could be deemed illegal. They complain that the regulations infringe on their right to eat and drink what they want.

"You can't even have a family cow anymore," said VICFA member Adrian Knight of Lexington. "This is America. Surely you can buy and sell on the farm. If this is what they're doing this year, where are they going to stop?"

Qualls said the governor's office has received "a pretty healthy response" to the regulations--all of it negative.

State health and agriculture officials defend the change. Beers and Deputy Agriculture Commissioner Don Blankenship say the regulations are intended to modernize Virginia dairy farms and promote consumer safety.

Beers agreed that sections of the law are ambiguous, but said the undefined terms and language that critics cite is the same as in the state's 1986 cow-milk regulations.

Acting State Epidemiologist Suzanne Jenkins said the state Health Department has the responsibility to protect people from potentially dangerous choices, even those they make themselves. While milk is sterile when it comes from the animal, salmonella, botulism and E. coli can be introduced in the handling and processing of dairy products, she said.

"Milk is an excellent medium for bacteria to grow in," Jenkins said.

The pasteurization process--in which milk is briefly heated to high temperatures--destroys dangerous bacteria and germs that can cause food-borne illnesses.

"The evidence in our opinion is absolutely overwhelming for pasteurization," Beers said.

However, both Beers and Jenkins agree there are no guarantees of a pathogen-free product, even with pasteurization.

"There are known problems, ever-present risks; no amount of management can override those risks," Beers said.

Despite the outcry against the regulations, "We're waiting for someone to refute" the state's finding that raw milk is unsafe, Beers said.

Opponents argue that they were never given the chance to do that. Christine Solem, a VICFA co-founder and board member who sells goat cheese at her local Charlottesville farmers market, petitioned the agriculture department to hold an evidentiary hearing before implementing the regulations. Her request was denied.

She filed an appeal Dec. 22 in Albemarle County Circuit Court alleging that the state "abused its discretion" in denying the hearing and that the regulations were "adopted without substantial evidence." The court will hear arguments March 28, but the state is moving forward on the new regulations in the meantime.

Microbiologist Lee Dexter is one person who says raw milk not only is safe, but may be healthier than pasteurized milk. The former USDA employee now sells goat's milk in Texas, where it is legal.

Dexter has reviewed numerous cases worldwide and written a 28-page report on raw milk. She said most comments made by epidemiologists and public health officials on the dangers of raw milk are opinions and "are not based on scientific fact."

She said statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and papers published on those reports "suggest people drinking pasteurized milk are four times more likely to contract a food-borne illness" that those who drink raw milk.

Dexter said "challenge tests" in which raw milk was inoculated with pathogens and examined later showed that the pathogens were destroyed.

"Raw milk contains its own immune system," she said.

Jenkins, the state epidemiologist, said she was not familiar with those tests.

VICFA is made up of about 300 farmers and consumers who enjoy raw milk products. They want the right to decide for themselves whom to trust about what they eat or drink.

They note several instances in which public health officials were wrong, such as labeling margarine healthier than butter and warning that eggs are bad for people with high cholesterol.

They are concerned the state will impose additional regulations on food in the future, said Joel Salatin, a co-founder and president of the association.

"No more," Salatin said at the VICFA's monthly meeting Jan. 9. If regulations continue, he said, individuals will lose "heritage, home, hearth and indigenous foods" and be forced to eat only "global government industrial stuff."

Group members in attendance laughed, briefly, but they are taking the situation seriously.

VICFA members recently demonstrated in front of the Virginia Supreme Court to protest the regulations. Many are lobbying legislators to suspend the regulations.

Like Hill, many see this as a case of government overstepping its bounds.

Spotsylvania resident Silvia Hadnot said she felt violated when she heard about the law. Her family drinks milk and eats dairy products from the goats they raise.

"I [feel] they are trying to take away my freedom to be healthy," she said.

Beers responded that people are free to "comply with the regulations or say no." But Solem notes that farmers "can't sell without [facing] civil and criminal penalties."

"Anyone who continues [to sell raw milk products] is subject to enforcement action," Beers acknowledged.

Violating the regulations is a Class 1 misdemeanor, which could bring penalties of up to a year in jail and/or a fine of up to $2,500 for each offense. Violators also could face civil fines of up to $1,000.

Spotsylvania farmer Maggie Culver, who drinks milk from her own cow, thinks the state needs to focus on more serious issues.

"Isn't it ridiculous," she asked at the recent VICFA meeting, "we're discussing [contraband] and it's about milk, not marijuana?"

To reach REBEKAH ELLIOTT: 540/374-5524 relliott@freelancestar.com