Indiana to Publish Raw Milk Safety Standards

Posted on September 6, 2012 by Shawn Stevens

Indiana will be adapting new standards for raw milk production, if the state decides to legalize the product.

Indeed, the Indiana Board of Animal Health (IBOAH) has until December 1, 2012 to give recommendations on raw milk policies to the Indiana Assembly.

A virtual public hearing was conducted between June 1 and Sept 1 this year. They received over 600 comments in support of raw milk. Due to this turnout, IBOAH has shared the report request by Indiana Legislature with the Governor. With the ample support, IBOAH will now include a “Plan B,” which will include adapted standards if raw milk is legalized.

IBOAH spokeswoman Denise Derrer stated, “[w]e’re basically creating a Plan B and submitting to legislators to tell them if you decide to legalize the sale of raw milk, here is the way we think it should happen.”

Indiana would join the state of Wisconsin in these new regulations. Wisconsin came up with very specific regulations making raw milk safer (if the state decided to legalize raw milk). These measures included testing for disease, plate count, somatic cell count, coliform bacteria in well water, and testing of pathogenic bacteria. In addition, Wisconsin wanted on-farm sampling, incident plans, and regulations for raw milk containers, such as labeling requirements.

Indiana was close to making raw milk legal earlier this year. Instead they opted to go with an outside advisory report. Indiana is ranked the 14th largest diary state by milk product. Notably, since Wisconsin adopted raw milk safety regulations, no raw milk bill has passed in the state legislature.
 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Indiana's Raw Milk "Virtual Public Hearing"

Posted on June 19, 2012 by Shawn Stevens

The Indiana General Assembly has appointed the Indiana State Board of Animal Health (BOAH) to study the topic of raw milk. BOAH will be conducting a 3 month long “Virtual Public Hearing” from June 1 to September 1 to gather information. They will then produce a report by December 1(if not sooner) with the gathered information. Indiana is the first state to conduct a compressive study of raw milk since the 2010 raw milk report. The 2010 report helped develop regulations to ensure safety of raw milk.

Currently, Indiana law bans the sale of raw milk. However, farm families locally are permitted to consume raw milk from their farms. Indiana is one of20 states that bans the sale of raw milk entirely. However, 30 states allow non-pasteurized sales in some fashion.

BOAH feels their overall task will be to decide whether or not the sale of raw milk should be permitted in any form. They are hoping for a strong turnout with the virtual hearing. Terry Philibeck, BOAH’s dairy division manager, explains, “we wanted to find a way for every Hoosier to participate.” The virtual hearing allows citizens to participate around their schedules.

To participate in Indiana’s raw milk virtual public hearing, click on the following link: www.boah.in.gov. For those who do not have internet access, you can submit commits via US Mail to: BOAH Attn: Raw Milk comments, Discovery Hall, Suite 100, 1202 E 38th St., Indianapolis, IN 46205.
 

Tags: , , , ,

E. Coli Outbreak Renews Raw Milk Fight in Oregon

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Shawn Stevens

After last month’s E. coli O157:H7 raw milk outbreak, the Oregon Dairy Farmers Association is continuing its fight for tighter restrictions on the sale of unpasteurized milk.

Unpasteurized milk was to blame for the April outbreak. The outbreak sickened nearly 20 people including two kids who allege possible long-term complications associated with kidney failure. Executive Director of the Oregon Dairy Farmers Association, Jim Krahn, claims this incident is an example of why stricter regulations are a necessity.

Pasteurization did not become mainstream until after World War II. The process involves heating the milk to kill harmful organisms. Harmful organisms can be responsible for diseases like listeria, typhoid fever, tuberculosis, and diphtheria. But, pasteurization does not necessarily kill all harmful bacteria.

Consumers of unpasteurized (“raw”) milk do not want to give it up. They feel that it provides many health benefits. They argue that it contains many good bacteria, enzymes, proteins, and vitamins, among other benefits essential for the body. Sharon Trayhorn, a mother and consumer of unpasteurized milk, claims her kids get “constipated, runny noses, stuff like that if I use store-bought milk.”

An Oregon State survey found that less than 3% of the total state population consumes unpasteurized milk. Some feel that a ban on unpasteurized milk could cause a black market for the product, like County Health Officer Dr. Gary Oxman believes. He feels the state already does a sufficient job of preventing “uninformed consumers from getting the product.” Oxman feels that those who want the product already have to go through great lengths to obtain the unpasteurized milk.

Contrary to Oxman’s beliefs, others like Dr. Barbara Mahan (co-author of a study for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) feel that if there are no restrictions on raw milk there is a greater risk for outbreak. She stated that, “there are twice as many outbreaks in states that allow unpasteurized milk.” She feels that “when it’s legal, more people drink.” People tend to feel that if it is legal, it must be ok.

ODFA (Oregon Dairy Farmer’s Association) is planning to hold a meeting this summer to address this issue. They will be inviting legislators, dairy farmers, and state agricultural officials. However, they will be excluding consumers and producers of raw milk. They are hoping to continue the fight after decades of warning against the risks of unpasteurized milk.
 

Tags: , , , , ,