Raw Milk Cheesemakers' Association

Buy Local - Support American Raw Milk Cheesemakers

About Us

E-mail: info[at]rawmilkcheese[dot]org

Since the 1940's, the US has disallowed the production and importation of any cheeses made of raw milk that are not aged a minimum 60 days.   Since so much cheese in the US was produced industrially, with pasteurized milk, this rule was not questioned very much.  And in some places, it was rather easy to find fresh, raw milk cheeses imported from Europe.  This began to change with the growth in American artisanal cheese production, which gained momentum about 20 years ago.  A new generation of cheesemakers was interested in more traditional ways of making cheese, while the regulations developed in the US were more appropriate for industrial production.  Unfortunately, at the same time a large industrial producer of fresh non-acidified Mexican style cheese mixed many tanker loads of raw but dirty milk into their pasteurized product and several people died.  People became afraid of cheese. This incident severely damaged the entire cheese industry in the US. 

 

About 10 years ago, the US FDA (Food and Drug Administration) proposed banning ALL raw milk cheeses, even those that were properly made and aged more than 60 days.  This generated quite a bit of controversy, and eventually some representatives from the American Cheese Society (a trade organization for American cheesemakers) worked with Oldways (an educational association) to launch the "Cheese of Choice" coalition, which collected thousands of signatures to defend the existing milk regulations.  One of the tactics used successfully by the coalition was to tell Americans that the new rules would prevent the importation of Roquefort and Parmigiano, both very popular cheeses here.

 

In part because of this effort, the FDA did not move forward with the rule change.  However, they have continued to produce reports which suggest that raw milk cheeses are dangerous.  Many cheese producers and defenders of raw milk cheese are concerned that such reports are the firsts signs of a new effort to require that ALL cheeses be produced with pasteurized or thermolyzed milk. 

 

In the meantime, a few scientists, including Dr. Cathy Donnelly and Dr. Paul Kindstedt, both at the University of Vermont, have conducted research to demonstrate the safety of raw milk cheese.  They are doing this through both epidemiological analysis and direct experiments making raw milk cheese. It is very difficult to find scientists in the US who can conduct such independent research.  Most universities receive scientific funding from large food companies and agribusiness, which are not interested in defending raw milk cheese.

 

The Australian government recently published a report that virtually proves the ability of cheese producers to make raw milk cheese (Roquefort) equivalent in safety to pasteurized cheese.

 

In the Seafood, Poultry and Meat industries the US government, through the USDA, requires the use of a system called HACCP to ensure the safety of their potentially dangerous products.  This system is also used voluntarily by many food producers.

 

For all these reasons, Slow Food USA has been working with raw milk cheesemakers to create a "Raw Milk Cheese Presidium" and also, this new organization, the “Raw Milk Cheesemakers’ Association” .  The Presidium created a Protocol which encourages raw milk cheese producers to make humane, socially and environmentally responsible, high quality raw milk cheese.  This Association will also provide a forum and some educational tools to help raw milk cheese producers make safe and high quality cheese.