FDA to probe how soft cheese is made

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FDA to probe how soft cheese is made

Cheese makers fear regulation could harm the industry

BY LISA RATHKE • ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER • March 5, 2008

GREENSBORO, Vt. -- The path from cow to cheese is short at Jasper Hill

Farm.

So short, in fact, that the first gallons of warm, fresh milk

already are being curdled into cheese before the last of the small herd

of Ayrshire cows has even been milked.

It's that raw, unpasteurized milk that gives the cheese maker's Constant

Bliss and other cheeses their distinctive earthy flavors, flavors that,

like other farmstead cheeses, vary as the seasons change the cows'

diets.

But that milk also could put these cheeses in jeopardy.

Concerns about the safety of some soft cheeses, including those made from

unpasteurized milk, have prompted a federal review of the production and

sale of mold-ripened cheeses such as domestic Bries and Camemberts. It's

a move producers fear could stymie the burgeoning industry.

Hoping to head off regulatory changes that could harm business, Jasper

Hill's cheese maker Mateo Kehler and some of the nation's other roughly

170 raw milk cheese makers formed the Raw Milk Cheesemakers' Association

(

www.rawmilkcheese.org).

The group, which says it shares the same goals as federal officials, is

developing a standardized process for regulating the production of raw

milk cheeses similar to those used in the European Union, which are based

on milk quality and environmental monitoring.

" We wanted to make sure that there was a core group of raw-milk

cheese producers that were doing absolutely everything they could to

further ensure the safety of raw-milk cheese, " says Cary ,

president of the association and co-owner of Rogue Creamery in Central

Point, Ore.

While not overtly targeting raw milk cheeses, the effort by the Food and

Drug Administration is looking at how to prevent listeria contamination

in certain cheeses, including those processed from raw milk.

Listeria, which also can contaminate deli meats, smoked seafood and hot

dogs, can kill infants and people with weakened immune systems. It also

can cause miscarriages.

While pasteurization will destroy listeria bacteria, producers of raw

milk cheese say pasteurized milk produces cheeses that lack much of the

nuance and flavor of those made with raw milk.

Part of the review will focus on how long raw milk cheeses must be aged

before being brought to market. Federal regulations currently require 60

days.

FDA spokesman Herndon says that standard -- set in 1977 -- was

based on science that indicated it was sufficient time for any pathogens

present during manufacturing to perish.

Now officials are rethinking that, wondering whether 60 days really is

long enough. Federal officials won't say what, if any, changes are

planned, except that it will develop a model for the production of

soft-ripened cheeses. They plan to take public comment on their

assessment next year.

But Donnelly, codirector of the Vermont Institute of Artisan

Cheese at the University of Vermont, says longer aging could actually

make soft-ripened cheeses more, not less, hospitable for pathogens such

as listeria.

Donnelly, who has studied the safety of raw milk cheeses, says even the

current FDA policy is outdated, and was created when the country was

producing mostly cheddar cheese and worried about salmonella.

It's more important to focus on raw milk quality and keeping production

facilities clean, she says.

And cheesemakers fear longer aging, saying it can cause some soft cheeses

to break down in texture and flavor. Some cheeses will become bitter and

unpalatable.

Some of the world's most popular cheeses are made from raw milk, and

imported to the United States, such as Roquefort and Parmigiano, which

are aged longer (and therefore are considered safer). But outbreaks of

listeria mostly have been linked to soft cheeses, particularly illicitly

produced Mexican-style cheeses made with contaminated raw milk, Donnelly

says.

" It's everything. It's how clean you keep your animals. It's your

milking protocol. It's how you maintain your equipment, how you clean

your equipment, " says Andy Kehler, Mateo Kehler's brother and

business partner.

As proof, Mateo Kehler notes that recent testing of their dairy's raw

milk found fewer than 100 organisms per milliliter, lower than the

standard for pasteurized milk in the supermarket, he says.

The risk isn't in the product itself, but in how it is handled, says

Steve Getz, who with his wife produces three raw-milk cheeses at their

Dancing Cow Farm in Bridport, Vt.

The risk comes when the milk isn't harvested properly, he says. " The

bottom line with raw milk is this: It can be medicinal or it can be

poison. "

Don Neeper

Senior Software Engineer

SofTechnics, a METTLER TOLEDO Company

dneeper@...

don.neeper@...

http://www.OhioRawMilk.info/dneeper