The Cupertino Courier

Community

Raw milk law garners mixed results from local consumers

By Cody Kraatz

Local unpasteurized milk advocates are raw about a new California testing standard they fear will keep the creamy product from their lips.

A new state law, AB1735, limits producers to 10 coliform bacteria per milliliter, the same limit for pasteurized milk in California and raw milk in some other states.

The two licensed producers in California say the legislation, which goes into effect Jan. 1, is too severe and should have had more debate and industry input.

"The process was not OK," said Collette Cassidy, co-owner of raw milk producer Claravale Farm in San Benito County.

The Legislature approved the bill unanimously with no discussion, and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger approved it in October.

State Sen. Elaine Alquist, a Sunnyvale representative and Health Committee member, said the bill will set an important safety standard and that there was no secrecy.

"It's all out there for them to see," she said.

Coliform bacteria is found in the intestines and feces of warm-blooded animals, including people. Most are harmless, and their presence does not necessarily mean milk has pathogens, but coliform levels can indicate sanitation during production, according to a California Department of Food and Agriculture statement.

"This is absolutely a conspiracy of sorts to get something done that will finish us off," said Mark McAfee, founder of Fresno-based producer Organic Pastures.

Not so, said Steve Lyle, CDFA spokesman, noting that Washington producers abide by the same limit.

"Raw milk is legal in the state of California," Lyle said. "Our indications are that this is an achievable standard."

Jeff Brown, owner of Dungeness Valley Creamery in Sequim, Wash., reluctantly agreed.

"We have to be absolutely scrupulously clean, but we've been able to do it," he said, adding, however, that the limit is "ridiculous" because coliform bacteria is not inherently dangerous.

Lyle and McAfee both said that California raw dairies' bulk tanks, where milk is first collected, already meet the standard most of the time.

Milk drinkers

While some consumers balk at warnings against raw milk, fans claim it can cure or alleviate arthritis, asthma, colds and infections.

There is little or no science to back up those claims, but the faithful don't care. They say pasteurization, by heating milk to high temperatures, destroys vitamins, enzymes and beneficial microorganisms.

Also, despite recent outbreaks of food-borne illness in Washington and California linked to raw milk, they say raw milk fears are paranoid.

Sunnyvale resident Kimeli Naiyomah moved from Kenya about 11 years ago. A Maasai, he lived on milk, but became lactose intolerant here. He now owns 23 of McAfee's cows and gets direct shipments.

He actively advocates for raw milk at Stanford University, where he studies, and campaigned with McAfee against AB1735.

"In a free society it's ironic that you can't get what you sanely think is healthy for you," he said.

For now, fans can get the milk locally at Whole Foods.

"We're going to have to wait and see if we're going to be able to continue to supply it," said Scott Sherman, manager of the Cupertino Whole Foods, which sells Organic Pastures milk for $7.99 per half-gallon and Claravale for about $6 per quart.

Campbell resident Julie Willey, shopping there with her four children on a recent morning, liked the milk and said she had served it to her children.

"We've heard so many good things about it," she said, adding she is considering joining a local buyer's club.

Zealous customers will sometimes wipe them out, said Sherman. But others are ambivalent.

"It looks like it's fairly safe, as long as you buy it from one of the well-known brands," said Cupertino resident Dale Anne Collings at the Whole Foods. She had not tried raw milk, in part because she was raised to fear it.

For more information on raw milk, visit www.cfsan.fda.gov, www.cdfa.ca.gov/ahfss, www.organicpastures.com or www.realmilk.com.