Food Safety

On raw milk drinking and cheeses of the same type.

Many people wonder about the health dangers of raw milk and therefore cheeses of the same type because they are populated with microbes and other bacteria. I was once a food safety trainer licenced with the Chartered Institute for Environment Health therefore I must remain true to my old habits...

"Our advice on raw drinking milk and cream

We advise that raw or unpasteurised milk and cream may contain harmful bacteria that can cause food poisoning. People with a weaker immune system are particularly vulnerable to food poisoning and should not consume it.

These include:

people aged 65 or over
people who are pregnant
infants and small children
people with compromised immune system such as cancer patients

Raw drinking milk and the law

The sale of raw drinking milk is legal in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It can only be sold directly to the consumer by:

registered milk production farms in the UK at the farm gate or farmhouse catering operation.
farmers at registered farmers’ markets
distributors using a vehicle as a shop such as a milk round
direct online sales
vending machines at the farm

It’s illegal to sell raw milk in any other setting.

Sales of raw milk and cream are completely banned in Scotland.

Hygiene regulations are in place to protect consumers. Raw drinking milk offered for sale must be:

from animals that are healthy and free from brucellosis and tuberculosis
from a farm that complies with hygiene rules and is routinely inspected twice a year
labelled with the appropriate health warning

Though its advisable for anyone part of the Groups at risk to follow the FSA advice, recent studies may help you understand better the benefits of raw milk and cheese, far from being harmful, even plays a protective role!

The intestine, a culture broth:

Recent studies indeed centre around the intestinal microbiota, our intestine is or should be full of billions of microbes that transform our food, allowing us to assimilate it. They are essential for the proper functioning of our digestion. This is called intestinal flora or microbiota. However, you should know that this flora is fragile and can be destroyed or drastically imbalanced. This is particularly the case when, as part of a medical treatment, you take antibiotics ( as their name suggests, they kill microbes and bacteria nor viruses and very often cause intestinal problems ) or by the consumption of certain foods not favourable to the health of the microbiota.

Today, many scientists are speaking out against the poor treatment of raw milk and raw milk cheeses.

Several global studies show that raw milk has protective properties and recommend consuming it during antibiotic treatments to protect and re-develop the attacked intestinal flora.

Raw milk, an enemy of pregnant women?

The answer is no. Quite the contrary. In the same way, we now know that raw milk has a protective role for babies and children. In our environments where asthma and allergies are increasingly developing, the consumption of raw milk by the mother during pregnancy would protect the child against the risks of asthma, allergies and hay fever.

One piece of advice when it comes to cheese however: consume hard cheese aged for more than 6 months, without risk of microbial contamination. On the other hand, avoid soft ones even if based on pasteurised milk. Their Aw, water activity, represents a more favourable environment if there were to be a proliferation of pathogens.

I am bound to follow HACCP procedures to demonstrate due diligence in the event of a customer suffering food poisoning so are the producers of the products sold on this website.

I keep traceability records of the items in the event I am advised by a producer of the presence of unwanted pathogens in their products, Escherichia Coli, Listeria, ... , allowing me to alert you immediately to report to myself of your local authority in case you suffer or have been suffering from food poisoning symptoms and recall these items.

It is good practice to keep an eye on the cheese monger practices, watch out for food surface cleanliness, regular hand washing, bad habits ( touching the face, nose, hair ) as it may well be the handler who cross contaminates your food!!! Bear in mind, you are too a food handler, you, your equipment ( fridge, utensils ) and poor food safety practices could be as well a source of cross contamination and food poisoning!

A talk I gave a few years ago on the risks associated with the consumption of cheese.

A few years ago, as I was studying for my first Food Safety diploma, the teacher conceded to me that she did not know much about dairy products and asked me if I could do a talk on the safety of pasteurised cheeses.

I was not very excited about the subject, not that pasteurised cheeses are all bad; many are made in an artisan manner and rather good. There is no substantial difference between raw and pasteurised milk on the finished product aside from the depth of flavour.

What are the risks and benefits associated with consumption of raw milk cheeses?

Producers of raw milk cheeses have to reconcile multiple Food Safety demands.

They are very vigilant when it comes to the microbiological quality of raw material. Samples are analysed after milking to determine the biological diversity. More samples are analysed during making and then on the finished products, which subject to European legislation ( still in place so far ), must meet the sanitary standards in production output.

Undeniable progress has been made to control contamination from production of milk. This results in increasingly stringent measures of hygiene in the implementation of a HACCP-type approach (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point method and principles of management of food safety).

The contribution of milk and dairy products in total Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus or Listeria food poisoning outbreaks represents less than 6%.
S. aureus is the bacterial species most involved in foodborne illness due to dairy products but has never been responsible for deaths.

Raw, thermised and pasteurised milk share the responsibility for food poisoning incidents without significant differences.
Since 1997, the number of cases of listeriosis has stabilized around 200 cases per year ( France produces more than 180000 tons of raw milk cheese per year).

L. monocytogenes was detected more frequently in cheeses made from pasteurized milk (8%) than in raw milk (4.8%) (Rudolph and Scherer, 2001). In France, over a period of 10 years (1987-1997), 73 infections due to cheese consumption were recorded for 2 million tonnes of raw milk cheeses!

The most serious poisonings are often associated with technological processes or defective storage before consumption.

The many benefits of raw milk cheeses consumption are linked to the diversity of microbial populations inhabiting the ecosystem cheese, they by far outweigh the risks.

Thus, more than 150 microbial species (bacteria, yeasts or moulds) have been identified in raw milk, each with its own balance in terms of species and strains (Callon et al., 2007, Delbès et al, 2007).

The diversity of microbial populations in raw milk is the source of a wide variety of aromatic molecules, themselves the source of the diversity and richness of sensory raw milk cheeses (Montel et al, 2005).

Biodiversity can not be reproduced during the seeding of pasteurized milk in which only a limited number of strains is inoculated which leads to a uniform sensory characteristics.

Microbial diversity in raw milk cheeses is an asset, it constitutes a barrier to pathogenic micro-organisms (Millet et al, 2006). It can inhibit microbial populations or species such as opportunistic pathogens by acidification, production of inhibitory metabolites (organic acids, ethanol, bacteriocins) or by nutrient competition.

Epidemiological studies have shown that consumption of raw milk may provide protection against asthma and allergy (Waser et al, 2007).

The consumption of fermented products with complex flora could improve the immune system (Moreau and Louis Vuitton, 2002) or limit colonization of the intestinal tract by some micro-organisms resistant to antibiotics (Bertrand et al, 2007).

Exposure to micro-organisms in early childhood could prevent atopic disorders (Racila and Kline, 2005). Young children living on farms or in contact with animals have less sensitivity to allergens (Riedler et al, 2000).

I walked quite late when I was a baby, my first few steps were taken in a field where cows grazed. My first fall happened shortly after when I landed in cow dung!

Unashamedly, I still very much enjoy the smell of cow dung, that typical smell of the farm which one might smell on the surface of some raw milk cheeses. It does brings me back!

On allergies from dairy products and possible ingredients associated.

Dairy:

Milk is a common cause of allergies in babies and children. Most outgrow cow's milk allergy by the age of 3 to 5 years. However, in some people it may not be outgrown. Milk and milk products are one of the most common foods to cause life-threatening severe allergic reactions (anaphylaxis).

Sulfites:

While sulfites are not directly related to dairy products, they can sometimes be found in certain dairy-containing

foods or be used as preservatives in some processed cheese, cheese spreads, and ice cream. These sulfites help extend the shelf life by inhibiting the growth of certain bacteria and moulds. They are also used in ice cream production to prevent browning and discoloration of the product.

It's important to note that sulfites are not added to fresh milk or other unprocessed dairy products. Milk, yogurt, butter, and other dairy staples are typically sulfite-free. These products undergo minimal processing and do not require the addition of sulfites for preservation.

When it comes to dairy allergies or sensitivities, it's crucial to differentiate between lactose intolerance and sulfite sensitivity. Lactose intolerance is a common condition where the body has difficulty digesting lactose, a sugar found in milk and dairy products. On the other hand, sulfite sensitivity is an adverse reaction to sulfites, which can cause symptoms such as headaches, hives, or difficulty breathing. While some individuals may have both lactose intolerance and sulfite sensitivity, they are separate conditions and should be treated as such.

Egg:

It is not egg as such but an enzyme called Lysozyme that is a normal constituent of tears, saliva, blood and (human) milk. It is commercially prepared from chicken eggs or by bacteria. It is used a preservative as it degrades the cell wall of bacteria. Its additive number is E1105 and is the only additive that I will so far accept on this website.

Nuts:

This allergen is used in dairy products solely as an ingredients, Rambol is a famous cow milk cheese with crushed walnut. Nuts do not participate in preservation but solely a flavouring.

The four allergens above are the main ones associated with milk and dairy items, they are not the only ones associated with allergies.

Whenever an allergen is present in your cheese as in any other products on this website, it will be highlighted in bold in the ingredients list.

Sources:

Raw drinking milk | Food Standards Agency

Dominique Vuitton, professor of clinical immunology at the University of Franche-Comté.

Xavier Bertrand, pharmacist microbiologist in the hospital hygiene and molecular epidemiology department of Besançon University Hospital. His main research activities are focused on the epidemiology of bacterial resistance to antibiotics and the control of nosocomial infections.

Doctor Dominique Angèle Vuitton, Professor Emeritus of Clinical Immunology, at the University of Franche-Comté. Investigator of the European program “PASTURE” (Protection against allergy: study in rural environments); Expert for the seventh Research Framework Program of the European Commission “Impact of exogenous factors in the development of allergy”