Last year I posted about raw milk (i.e. unpasteurized milk) and discussed whether we should be drinking it. It provoked an interesting response, including from an American anti-raw milk lawyer.
I decided to give it a try, but have been somewhat frustrated in my search for a unpasteurised milk supplier (often it’s called “Green Top Milk” here in the UK). I did find a farm in Cheshire (H S Bourne) who would sell it on demand at my local farmers market, but I ran into a stumbling block, because the farmer in question refused to let me see his milk safety / quality test results. Whilst he could claim till he was blue in the face, that his milk was clean and good, I’d be remiss both as a consumer, and parent, if I didn’t make every effort to ascertain that for myself. Especially as the Chief Scientist of the Food Standards Agency (the main dept in England for food safety) has likened unpasteurised milk to eating raw poultry!!
So that was a no go. I of course wondered what he had to hide? I have continued to look however and have now found another farmer, this one near Hereford, who sells green top milk and this farmer was prepared to send me a copy of his test results and discuss them openly. Even more amazingly, I’ve discovered the reason this farmer does so well in the bacteria tests, is that he is an ex British Army Biological Weapons Training Officer come ice cream farmer!
So as soon as I get the chance, I’m off to Hereford to stock up on some good quality raw milk and see if the hype is all it’s cracked up to be.
