Some state farmers selling raw milk early

Arkansas law takes effect Friday as customers say benefits worth the risk

A law allowing the sale of unpasteurized milk in Arkansas doesn’t go into effect until Friday, but dairy farmers across the state have been skirting it for weeks.

Word that farmers had already sold hundreds of gallons of raw cow milk across the state raised eyebrows at the state Department of Health last week after it was determined many were bottling and selling the unprocessed dairy too early, sometimes in containers labeled “not for human consumption.”

The Legislature passed a bill in April making Arkansas one of 29 states to allow people to buy and sell raw cow milk. The milk must be sold directly on the farm and farmers’ average monthly sales cannot exceed 500 gallons. But in the days and weeks after Gov. Mike Beebe signed the law, some farmers jumped the gun, selling unpasteurized cow milk earlier than legally allowed.

“I’m hoping they don’t mess things up by doing something wrong, where someone gets sick and that spoils the whole thing for the rest of us,” said Theresa Schot, who will begin selling raw milk with her husband, Paul, at Schot’s Slopes Farm in Valley Springs on Friday.

Foodies and raw milk fans rave about the taste and say that it’s healthier and more natural, but health officials and scientists nationwide warn against its consumption. Pasteurization is a century-old technique that destroys pathogens in milk using heat. It is known to eliminate harmful, potentially lethal bacteria. The state Health Department issued a statement following the law’s passage that said the sale of unpasteurized milk in Arkansas created significant concerns about the potential outbreak of disease. Dr. Barbara Mahon, a medical epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, says consuming raw milk is outright dangerous, given the risk for bacterial infection.

“In my mind, you’re balancing a hypothetical benefit against an absolutely real risk,” Mahon said. “Raw milk is among the riskiest if not the riskiest food you can consume.”

The Department of Health’s public information officer, Ed Barham, said the agency condemns the illegal sales of raw milk that have already taken place, but that pursing action against farmers responsible for the illegal sales now would be impractical. To the department’s knowledge, he said, health officials in Arkansas had never charged anyone with selling unpasteurized milk.

So in essence, farmers such as David and Melody Tapprich, who live on a 5-acre property on Valentine Lane in Batavia, can go on selling their usual two or three gallons a day through Friday - when the practice officially becomes legal - but may be liable if someone becomes sick, according to Ann Purvis, director of administration at the state Department of Health.

Melody Tapprich on Thursday sold the milk of her 900-pound jersey cow “Buttermilk” at $3.50 a gallon, with a $5 deposit for a returnable glass jug. She and her husband, David, wake up around 6 every morning - “when the cows start mooing” - to do the milking.

Tapprich said she thought the law went into effect in July, and knew other farmers in the area who had started offering raw milk themselves before she and her husband started selling. They have sold 19 gallons of raw milk since early July, labeling their containers “not for human consumption.”

“I have no idea where that came from,” the Health Department spokesman said Friday, noting the label was not required by Arkansas law.

Berryville resident Victor Blevins, 46, bought two gallons of milk from Tapprich on Thursday. He said in a phone interview that he and his wife would use the milk for cereal, to make butter, maybe to drink on a hot day, despite the label.

“We like the taste of it,” he said. “I think the milk’s a whole lot better than it is in the store.It’s a little bit of a sweeter taste, little bit stronger.”

Blevins has been drinking raw milk for months because, he says, it’s a healthier alternative to store-bought pasteurized milk.

Though many in the scientific community disagree, proponents of unpasteurized dairy say drinking raw milk has health benefits ranging from better immunity and growth to stronger bone density and overall nutrition. Plus, said 35-year-old Amanda Whisenhunt, “it’s a memory,” a nostalgic taste of the past. Together with her husband, Joel, Whisenhunt is running a 70-gallon-per-week operation on a 300-acre poultry and cattle farm in Nashville.

Arkansas’ raw milk law does not require cows to be inspected, but Whisenhunt says she’s tested hers for things like tuberculosis and Johne’s disease so customers can be sure they won’t become sick. Right now, she is milking two jersey cows a day to keep up with demand. But she thinks eventually she’ll have three cows working to produce the 500-gallon limit.

“A lot of people are wanting to go back to natural things,” Whisenhunt said. “Where there’s so much preservatives and stuff in store-bought food of any kind, some people want to try to get away from that.Then again, it could just be the taste.”

But health officials nationwide say consumption of unpasteurized dairy comes with a risk. Experts at the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control say any perceived benefits of raw milk are outweighed by the potential for illness. Mahon attributed the milk’s consumption to a recent outbreak of campylobacter in Pennsylvania and said it was regrettable that so many parents offered the milk to their children.

Earlier this month, the Pennsylvania Department of Health confirmed two cases of campylobacter infection in people who consumed raw milk. The infection can cause abdominal pain and fever, and is sometimes fatal.

But ask Mariah White and her husband, Ira, who are already selling around 25 gallons a week at Summer Kitchen Family Farm in Fayetteville.They’ll say the risk - if there is any - is more than worth the reward. The Whites say they don’t worry about their product being contaminated because they place so much emphasis on cleaning the stalls and their “princesses,” two fawn-colored jerseys named Scarlet and Emmaline.

Mariah White says it takes about an hour of milking between the two cows to produce their combined 10 to 11 gallons a day. That doesn’t include the time they spend cleaning the cows’ utters and sterilizing milk jugs.

“Just like any of your food, you don’t want to eat something that’s not been properly handled,” she said.

But Mahon argues that some sources of contamination can’t be prevented so simply. She pointed to a case where a quarter of a cow’s utter was infected, leading a group of school children to suffer salmonella. The milk from one teat had been mixed with that from the others in a container, and all of it became contaminated.

For Mahon, unpasteurized milk is unappetizing. “I would rather eat raw beef than drink raw milk,” she said.

Still, she said Friday that when hygiene is properly maintained, the risk for infection does decrease significantly.

Theresa Schot, the Valley Springs farmer who will start selling raw milk Friday, hopes to pay off the $800 cow she bought this year with the profit. She and her husband hope to sell 40 gallons a week with the help of their new 800-pound jersey, Gertie, and another milk cow.

“She’s very easy going, unless you don’t milk her fast enough and then she starts peeing,” she said with a laugh. “But you know, everybody’s got their attitude.”

Already, the Schots are receiving requests for their raw milk on Facebook and through email. Schot said a woman contacted her last Thursday night and she sent her directions, telling her to swing by a little more than a week later, when the sale will be legal. Until then, Schot says, she’ll be tending to her cows and fishing out customers online - through Facebook, email and raw milk forums.

“It’s going to be fun, meeting some of these people.”

Reader poll

What do you think about the state allowing the sale of raw cow's milk?

  • I don't like it; I think raw milk is dangerous. 36%
  • It's like it: I think raw milk is the most healthful option. 24%
  • I like that sales are allowed, but I wouldn't buy it for myself. 28%
  • I need to know more. 8%
  • Other (please contribute to comments section). 4%

25 total votes.

Front Section, Pages 1 on 08/12/2013

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