Do you think raw milk cheeses aged under 60 days should be legalized in the US? Why or why not?

by Gian_GK

27 Comments

  1. Former-Finish4653 on

    Yes. The US let’s the consumer make their choices with all kinds of “dangerous” consumables. Informed decision making is the key. The risks should be clearly advertised, but it should be sold.

  2. fanofbreasts on

    Reminder: the people in these comments are in the top 1% of cheese consumers. We are pretty well informed about the pros and cons. I sort of feel like something that’s food should just be able to be picked up and consumed. Americans assume cheese is safe to eat, whereas they generally know meat must be cooked.

    I’d hate for someone to get a nasty tummy or die from poor handling or ignorant consumption of raw cheese.

  3. Yes but the manufacturing process should be even more strict than others. someone just posted an article about a small producer of cheese who did not properly follow safety standards and was making unaged cheese with raw milk that spread ~~wisteria~~ listeria

  4. jennyfromtheeblock on

    Millions of people eat raw milk cheese every day in France and Canada. We’re all fine.

    The US has literally no good reason to ban this and is happy to allow actual poison to be sold for consumption like cigarettes and hungry man dinners.

  5. ASemiAquaticBird on

    Yes – why not? I mean there are plenty more substances that are legal to produce that pose a higher risk. Why wouldn’t cheese be allowed?

  6. No. Pasteurization exists for a reason and it’s not for fun and games. There is no reason to consume raw milk or raw milk products when there exists ways to virtually eliminate the chance of illness without actually changing the product.

  7. I think people should have the right to eat them if they want to. Slap a warning about eating unpasteurized dairy items on them if you have to, but otherwise, it should be seen as no worse than eating sushi or any other food that might pose a health hazard if handled incorrectly.

  8. We should legalize raw milk in general. And aging in wood (currently need steel). And not adding fire-retardant to all our pillows. The US is fucking retarded when it comes to some regulations, and not stringent enough in terms of others (e.g. taxes and testing for e.coli).

  9. A_SlightlyIrishHorse on

    Yes, IF it’s made the right way and not risk contamination because corporate profit gouging. Europeans seem to be able to do it just fine and not get horribly sick all the time from their cheese. Unfortunately the biggest problem for this country is prioritization of profit over safety and care during production.

  10. With monitored hygiene standards for the farm and production facility and a statement of raw milk declaration on the label I don’t see why not.

    Ideally just yes, but I’ve seen some places that you would be happy they pasteurize.

    And the industry secret is that a good deal of raw milk cheese you get are still thermalized.

    Which is another tangent, thermalizing up to 135, no hold and then back down should have its own designation. It’s a great tool to control seasonal fluctuations in flora on natural farms, without beating the piss out of the milk.

    Also the rule is kinda off anyway as some cheeses that are pasteurized will increase from acidic to basically neutral pH in 60 days and can be just as dangerous.

    Also, any smear or mold ripened cheese isn’t really worth eating before 30 days anyway.

    Eating is dangerous. Not eating is deadly.

  11. Interesting-Duck6793 on

    I worked as a cheese monger for over 4 years. Nothing is wrong with raw milk cheese. At the end of the day we’re just eating rotten milk. Cheese is cheese.

  12. beesinthecouch on

    The regulations are based on sound science. Some types of cheese are at a higher risk of allowing pathogenic bacteria to survive, and raw milk has a higher probability of containing pathogenic bacteria, so the risk greater. These increased risk cheeses are ones that have a higher water activity and a higher pH (less acidic) and do not inhibit growth of pathogenic bacteria. There is currently a multi-state outbreak involving raw milk cheeses that have pathogenic E. coli, which is easily killed with pasteurization and would not have happened if it wasn’t made from raw milk. Most food safety rules are based on the fact that companies don’t really care unless they are forced to care.

    Are all the commenters who support raw milk also ok with dropping regulations for potable water?

  13. As long as people are safely producing and storing it then definitely. I loved in Montreal for 5 years amd the variety of cheese they get is insane because they don’t have the same laws as in the states

  14. AnarchyCheesemonger on

    Yes it should be. Because I don’t need the State to be my daddy.

  15. Aranka_Szeretlek on

    Something something something freedom and guns…

    But jokes aside, there are _some_ food items that are dangerous enough to be worth banning. Cheese is probably not dangerous enough, provided you educate the population about dangers – especially related to pregnancy – but educating is miles harder than banning.

  16. a-magnum-dong on

    Yes they should. The only reason the are not is because the fda works closely with the large farm companies and raw milk cheese production is difficult and expensive on a large scale.

  17. LetsBeStupidForASec on

    Yes. I think it’s time to update the laws on that. I don’t think just saying “do whatever you want!” is the solution, but I’m sure it’s possible to improve the situation.

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