Portland shows the way with raw milk sales allowed at area farmers’ markets

From Emily Parkhurst on The Forecaster.net:

Photo of a Portland farmers market by Steve Minor, via Travel and Liesure blog. Click image above to go there.

PORTLAND — Customers at the city’s farmers markets may soon be able to buy unpasteurized local milk, hard cider, beer and wine to go with their fresh vegetables, meats and baked goods.

City Councilors John Anton and Cheryl Leeman are sponsoring an amendment to the city’s rules that would allow licensed market vendors to add fermented beverages, raw milk and raw milk products, such as cheese, to their wares.

“This is something that was initiated by citizen requests,” Anton said.

State laws that regulate farmers markets allow vendors to sell unpasteurized milk as long as it is clearly labeled. The proposed amendment to the Portland rules would also require vendors to have a laminated placard prominently displayed at their stands that explains the risks of consuming unpasteurized milk.

According the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people who drink raw milk are at a higher risk of food-borne illnesses because pathogens that could be living in the milk are not killed during processing.

But raw milk advocates say drinking unpasteurized milk has positive health effects, and that the pasteurization process destroys some of milk’s health benefits.

Anton said he opposes the placard requirement and that he plans to offer an amendment eliminating it at the next City Council meeting on Feb. 6.

He said it isn’t that he is disregarding the health risks, but that requiring market vendors to display the placard is unfair as long as other businesses that sell raw milk are not required to do so.

“The state law does require that it be clearly labeled as unpasteurized,” Anton said. “I’m comfortable that is sufficient consumer protection.”…”

Read it all on The Forecaster.