Politics: UPDATE ON CALIFORNIA RAW MILK SITUATION

[Guest guest]

There has been a lot of confusion about the situation in California

and several members emailed us after contacting the California

Assembly Appropriations Committee, in response to our last update, to

tell us that the favorable raw milk bill AB 1604 was not on the

docket as we had reported.

Unbeknownst to us, Assemblywoman Parra, the sponsor of AB 1604,

pulled the bill before it went to the Appropriations Committee.

got the message that the bill would be defeated because of the

concerted backdoor effort by Big Dairy and the medical society lobby

interests.

AB 1604 is now dead and AB 1735, which stipulates a virtually un-

achievable coliform level, remains in full force and effect.

However, Parra has formed a " blue ribbon " panel to research

the issue of raw milk coliforms and pathogens and it sounds like it

will be stacked with pro-raw milk advocates and scientists. The blue

ribbon committee will then make a recommendation to the Assembly

Agriculture Committee about standards for a new raw milk bill that

will protect California raw milk producers and consumers.

After 600 passionate raw milk consumers filled the assembly Ag

Committee chambers, AB 1604 standards became a political " hot

button. " In order to pass the Assembly and the Senate, more research

needed to be done. Parra has promised to introduce a raw milk

bill that incorporates the recommendations of the blue ribbon

committee.

Meanwhile, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CFDA)

came out to Organic Pastures last week on January 24th and pulled a

sample from the bulk tank and from a bottle. The dairy met the

bacteria limit in the bulk tank with an SPC of 2000 and coliforms of

8 but failed the test at the bottle. However, some of the samples

they took from creamery inventory were from older " returned " product

that was intended to be fed to their calves. Even though the calf

milk area is labeled as such, the creamery is now locking that

product behind a chain link cage to prohibit this from happening

again.

The Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund is preparing legal action in

the light of these developments. We will keep you posted as events

unfold.

Raw milk continues to be sold from both Claravale and Organic

Pastures Dairy. The next possible CDFA test will occur in late

February. The important thing to understand is that a producer must

fail three out of five tests. And then...a degrade just stops

production for less than two days. During that period, test samples

can then clear the milk for continued sales and then the producer is

back to the clean plate of zero out of five and can fail another

three times and that takes another three months. What is happening is

a game of bacterial cat and mouse with your food. It is harassment of

your California raw milk producers. Coliforms are beneficial bacteria

and the tests mean literally nothing except to confirm that we are

being harassed.

This is a fight that will take time to win right. More to come very

soon.