Reports of call for ban on sales of raw milk are denied

Food writer Rose Prince said Dairy UK, representing the mainstream industry, had “demanded” that the Food Standards Agency ban it.

But Dairy UK said it had only stated its long-standing position in response to a review of the issue announced by the FSA. And the FSA said: “One of our scientific committees looked at the risks of drinking raw milk and after considering the conclusions, the agency did not feel changes to its policy were necessary. The current regulations strike a balance between protecting consumer safety and allowing consumer choice.”

Unpasteurised cows’ milk cannot be sold in Scotland. But in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, unpasteurised milk from TB-free herds can be sold direct from farms or through farmers’ markets and farm-run milk rounds.

*Milk from cows which are organically kept and will never be slaughtered is on offer at £2.25 a litre, plus 15p for a doorstep delivery, in the London area.

A federation of vegetarians, environmentalists and people with religious objections to the exploitation of animals, has commissioned a farmer in Kent to keep a small dairy herd to its principles. A spokesman, Sanjay Tanna, said the project had been inspired by the practice of a Hare Krishna community in Hertfordshire.

See www.ahimsamilk.org/