Is Raw Milk Legal in Maine
The Maine Milk Rule requires that all containers, equipment and utensils used for handling, storing and transporting milk be disinfected before use. For this purpose, commercially available disinfectants can be used, which can be based on chlorine, iodine or quaternary ammonium. All disinfected equipment must be emptied before use. Remember: all raw milk contains bacteria and some of these bacteria can be harmful and sometimes even deadly. Statistics show that the risk of getting sick from eating raw milk is higher in young children, pregnant women, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems, but it`s important to remember that people of all ages can get sick from eating raw milk. While it`s true that foodborne outbreaks have been linked to both pasteurized dairy products and raw milk, a study published in March 2012 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on a study published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Maine`s Bureau of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources inspects and licenses the state`s 87 dairies. The goal of the office is to strengthen the dairy industry. 5.
Temperature: Milk should be cooled to 45 degrees F or less within two hours of milking, provided the mixing temperature does not exceed 50 degrees F after the first and subsequent milking. The Maine Division of Animal Health and Industry provided alternate names of raw milk producers that are not necessarily organic: 4. If the udders are dirty when the animal enters the milking parlor, they should be washed with a one-serving paper towel or a single-use washcloth dipped in a disinfectant solution for the udder. Keep water to a minimum. If the teats are relatively clean (i.e., there is no sign of manure or gross contamination), they can be brushed manually. She said Maine allows cheesemakers to use simple vats to heat process raw milk. They keep careful written records throughout the process, which are available to state dairy inspectors at all times. Hollow Maple Farm, 1872 Stage Rd., Etna; 368-5605. Goat milk. In both cases, heating milk for the prescribed period kills microorganisms and enzymes that can reduce the quality, shelf life and safety of the milk or dairy product.
1. Standard plate count (SPC): The SPC (sometimes called the “raw number”) tests the total amount of aerobic bacteria (those that need air to grow) in your milk. A sample of your milk is incubated on a 90-degree-F agar plate for 48 hours, and then the analyst counts how many bacterial colonies have formed. The legal limit for this is 100,000 colony-forming units per millilitre of milk. Most producers have values well below 10,000 and less than 5,000 should be a target. High SPCs often indicate poor equipment cleaning. But remember, even at a count of 5,000, that means there are still 5,000 bacteria in a milliliter of milk. Or, 5 million in a liter (about a quarter). “We wear a regulatory hat that prioritizes public health, and we know we`re walking a fine line,” said Linda Stahlnecker, director of the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry`s milk quality laboratory. “We know it`s your business, but how can we help you make it as clean as possible for people?” “There has always been a demand for raw milk,” says Perron.
Pasteurization is the process of heating milk to at least 145 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes. The higher the temperature used in the process, the shorter the time. Outside of Maine, it must comply with the U.S. Department of Agriculture`s pasteurized milk regulations — or PMO. This means that the process must include the technology and equipment that records and documents these temperatures and times. Although he has been a farmer since 1990, he only started selling raw milk eight years ago. The business was lucrative. Its raw milk sells for $8 a gallon wholesale, and milk for cheese costs much more. “It was a good choice at the right time,” he concludes. Ken Ayers, a plant-based nutrition educator at John Edwards Market in Ellsworth, reports that raw milk has been a big seller since they started wearing it. You can never order enough to meet demand. “We have people who come out here with six or seven half-gallons,” he says.
Gladstone`s Dairy Goats, W. Paris; 674-5062 or 674-5272. The rector of Goat`s Milk is quick to point out that the heat treatment approved in Maine is very different from the process used in many European countries, known as “thermal heating.” This process uses very low heat and less time to produce milk that falls somewhere between raw and pasteurized. It`s not legal anywhere in the United States. Bailey Hill Farm, 639 Bailey Hill, Farmington 04938; 778-4595 Bisson, L&P and Sons, 112 Meadow Road, Topsham 04086; 725-7215 Great Hopes Farm, 636 Hadley Mill, Brooks 04921; 234-2305 Harmony Farms, 253 Athens Rd., Harmony 04942; 682-6491 Harmony Mill Farm, 133 Mill Lane, Waltham 04605; 584-2035 Sherman Farm Dairy, 56 Sherman Farm, Fairfield 04937; 453-0338 Townhouse Farm, 35 Townhouse Road, Whitefield 04353; 549-5670.
