Raw milk is always risky: stabilising the danger of raw milk in Australian food safety regulation

Abstract

The sale of raw drinking milk from cows is banned in Australia due to regulatory requirements that all milk must be pasteurised. Such a prohibition is based on concern about public health and safety risks, and was upheld in the most recent review of raw milk product regulation undertaken by Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ). However, this decision is not one that is universally accepted, with some people challenging the conclusion that raw milk is dangerous, and choosing to still source and drink it. In this paper, the contested regulation of raw milk is examined by questioning the normative assumption that the object in question, raw milk, is a singular entity, and one which is always dangerous. Drawing on analysis of six FSANZ documents released as part of its raw milk review, this paper discusses the practices that stabilise raw milk as always risky; processes that are found to wash away the possibility of other, potentially safe, versions of raw milk. It concludes by finding that such stabilisation has tangible impacts for public health policy and regulation, including limiting the parameters within which debate can occur, and precluding the possibility that other versions of raw milk could exist, or be accounted for in food safety regulation.

Keywords:

• risk
• food regulation
• raw milk
• ontological multiplicity

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. Pathogens are bacteria, or other microorganisms, that can cause disease. FSANZ is particularly concerned about the potential for bacteria such as Campylobacter, enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC), Listeria and Salmonella, to be present in raw milk and cause adverse health impacts for some people (FSANZ, 2009b).

2. Food Standard Code 1.2.3 – Information requirements – warning statements, advisory statements and declarations.

3. Food standards Code – 1.6.1 – microbiological.

4. Standard 4.2.4 – Primary Production and Processing Standard for Dairy.

5. The exception to this is raw goat milk, which is permitted in four states – NSW, SA, QLD and WA.