COMMENT

1 October 2011 Irish Farmers Journal

VIEWPOINT
the key artisan food producers in Ireland at loghave gerheads some of with the Minister of Agriculture and the Food Safety Authority over the issue of the proposed ban on the sale of raw milk is far from ideal . The passion and enthusiasm of these award-winning individuals make them key players on, the 'Ireland the Food Island' team. Their endeavours enhance the reputation of Ireland as a centre of excellence for high quality food to the benefit of all exporters.
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Raw milk - can common sense prevail? .~ -. . To

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To have some of the key artisan food producers in Ireland at loggerheads with

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the Minister of Agriculture, his officials and the Food

Safety Authority, over the issue of the sale of raw milk is far from ideal. The three big risks are: (1) risk of people falling III; (2) risk of farmers being sued and (3) risk of adverse 'publicity damaging the entire dairy sector. ~ at nOe cO\lld remove all three risks. Is pasteurised fresh whole milk direct from the farm a compromise tion? ditions, and solu-

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What a;e the issues behind the proposed ban on the sale of raw milk?
The three big risks associated with the sale of unpasteurised milk are (1) risk to public health from nasty germs - particularly from E.coli 0157 which, although part of the normal gut flora
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What would be the conassociated costs. if a licensing scheme was introduced? What is an acceptable level of risk for (1) consumers; (2) farmers and (3) the wider dairy sector.

Some dairy farmers interested drinking their product.

in selling raw milk are worried that they might lose their farms in a legal case if somebody

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haemorrhagic diarrhoea and renal failure in humans; (2) risk to farmers of being sued over product liability if some body fans ill; (3) risk to the reputation of the Irish dairy export sector of damaging international media coverage if any children got sick from drinking raw milk. Many people argue that they drank raw milk when they were young and 'look at the broth of a man I grew into!' However, a few new nasty bugs have emerged in the last few decades. E.coli 0157 only appeared in the mid1980s and multiantibiotic resistant salmonena more recently. A first cousin of 157caused the recent huge outbreak in Germany, where 48 people died and the sensational media coverage did untold da mage to several categories of foods, initiany suspected, but subsequently proved to be uninvolved. At the height of the outbreak, Spanish cucumber growers couldn't give their products away and were los ing 200m per week and the Russians imposed a ban on an salads from the EU. Food is distributed globany

but so also is media coverage - although the latter travels much faster and often perspective' and truth become distorted on the journey. URBAN VS RURAL For farm families, the risk of iHness, while stin existing, may be much less as they bring the milk straight from the bulk tank to their fridge. They also live on a farm, so may have already developed some immunity to the nasty bugs. Urban d,weJlers are unlikely to have any immunity to the nasties and the milk might be a few hours out of the fridge prior to consumption, giving bugs a chance to multiply. It takes a certain number of bugs to make people ill and while the milk might leave the farm with a tiny number, if the milk is not kept cool, this number could multiply to a lethal dose. Raw milk cheese, while being riskier than pastuerised cheese, does not pose the same risk as raw milk, as the cheese making process makes the conditions less favourable for bad bugs to survive.

Pasteurisation was introduced to kiH bugs like TB and brucenosis but also protects against the newer threats of E.coli 0157,campylobacter and salmone]]a. Fans of raw milk argue that the goodness is taken out of it during pasteurisation. The supermarket product is different to raw milk, but, rather than pasteurisation, this is due to homogenisa tion, extraction of cream and other constituents and fortifi cation. Flash pasteurisation is 20 seconds at nOc, and wiJ] remove the nasties and an three risks. Food experts preparing custard or white sauces, etc, heat the milk to higher tem peratures and for longer than 20 seconds, and the products remain both delicious and nourishing. Is pasteurised whole milk direct from the farm the solution? Many farmers are seeking to cut out the middle man and supply products direct from farm to consumer. Fresh whole milk, which has been subjected to 20 sec

onds pasteurisation, is a very different product to the milk on commercial sale. Many older consumers fondly remember the bottles of fun cream milk that were delivered daily, which contained one third cream. A smaJl number of farmers are currently successfuJly seJling pasteurised whole milk directly from their farms. Maybe fresh whole milk is a compromise product that wiJ] give consumers what they want, give those farmers, who are interested, a point of differentiation and remove all three risks that are causing concern to the authorities? LICENSING The proponents for permitting the sale of raw milk suggest a sman number of producers should be licensed and standards agreed to mini mise the risks. Such models exist in other countries. Controls can be enhanced to minimise risk but there is no control, other than pas teurisation, that will remove the risks completely, so can we have consensus on what level of risk is acceptable? If a sman number of producers

Ban on the sale of raw milk is justified

A ban on the sale of raw milk for direct human consumption is justified, according to Minis ter for Agriculture Simon Cov eney. He was strongly advised by veterinary experts at the Department of Agriculture and the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) that there are serious risks associated with drinking raw milk. The Minister's views on the subject were revealed In response to Dail questions from Dominic Hannigan. The Minister highlighted the disease risks, such as TB, Brucellosis, Lcoli 0157, Campylobacter and Salmonella. "There have been incidents of these in Ireland and other countries in

were licensed, as a pilot, what would be the conditions of acquiring such a licence and what would be the cost of complying with these condi tions? The proponents of raw milk say the risk to health is exaggerated, and if nobody is going to fan ill, no farmers wiH be sued and there will be no adverse publicity to damage the wider dairy sector. They consider the proposals for a ban as completely 'over the top'. They argue that there are riskier activo ities in Irish society and there is no question of banning them. The Food Safety Authority is worried about the risks to public health. Some dairy farmers interested in selling raw milk are worried that they might lose their farms in a legal case if somebody fen ill from drinking their product, whereas other dairy farmers and the processing sector are worried ~about the damage adverse publicity, associated with anyone faHing ill, could do to the industry's international reputation, particularly the valuable infant formula sector.

The three risks have been we]] debated in the public domain but consensus among an stakeholders has not been achieved. The Minister seems to have his mind made up; a sector of the artisans feel aggrieved, a sman number of farmers selling raw milk look like they will have a revenue stream removed. How can the Minister soften the blow? Some incentive to encourage people to opt for the 20-second pasteurisers might help. Innovation, adding value to farming enterprises, and encouragement for food entrepreneurs has to be fostered. If the decision to implement a ban on the sale of raw milk stands, discontent among key members of the 'Ireland the Food Island' panel has to be rectified. We need the passionate players to feel that their con tribution is valued and for them to continue to play their starring role.
Professor Patrick Wall is associate Professor of Public Heath at UCD, a former head of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland and former chairman of the European Food safety Authority (EFSA).

Minister Coveney
difficult and costly to implement and wouldn't eliminate the serious health risks. "I am advised by the FSAI that meaningful differences in nutritional value between pasteurised and unpasteurised milk have not been demonstrated," he said. Dairy exports are worth over 2bn to the national economy and any food scare associated with raw Irish milk could have major implications for the industry, he said.

recent years. Resulting illnesses can be serious and, on occasion, fatal," he said. He commented that regulation allowing the sale of raw milk for human consumption, on a restricted basis would be