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Proposed regulatory framework for unpasteurised milk products

Appendix 3: Draft Amended Food (Prescribed Foods) Standard 2009

See below.

Appendix 4: Standards and requirements for unpasteurised and raw milk products set by a selection of overseas countries and international bodies

Codex Alimentarius Commission

The Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex) develops standards that are designed to protect the health of consumers and promote fair practices in food trade and that may be used as a base for national legislation by all of its member nations (New Zealand has been a member of Codex since 1964).

Provisions for raw milk products, with the specific exclusion of raw drinking milk, are included in the Commission’s Code of Hygienic Practice for Milk and Milk Products (CAC/RCP 57-2004). Raw milk is defined in the Commission’s Code as milk that has not been heated beyond 40 degrees Celsius or undergone any treatment that has an equivalent effect. The Commission’s Code emphasises strict hygiene conditions for the harvesting of milk and on-farm activities to ensure that, in combination with control measures during processing, raw milk products are safe and suitable for human consumption. The Commission’s Code also contains a requirement for the labelling of the product to make it clear that the milk has not been heat-treated.

European Union

The European Union (EU) is a political and economic community of twenty-seven member states. The EU has developed a single market through a standardised system of laws which apply in all member states, guaranteeing the freedom of movement of people, goods, services and capital. EU legislation is set by the European Community (EC).

Many European countries have a tradition of producing a wide range of unpasteurised and raw milk products (particularly cheeses)¹⁶ and these products are permitted for sale in the EU. EC legislation sets out microbiological, food safety and process hygiene criteria governing the production and labelling requirements for raw milk products. Specific provisions for raw milk production include: animal health requirements; hygiene of milking; storing and collection operations; and health and hygiene of personnel. Where the manufacturing process does not include any heat treatment, or physical or chemical treatment, products made with raw milk must be clearly labelled with the words ‘made with raw milk’.

The European Union (EU) permits the sale of raw milk products subject to the following EC sanitary and food hygiene regulations:

• Regulation (EC) 852/2004 on the hygiene of foodstuffs (lays down the hygiene requirements for all food business operators);

• Regulation (EC) 853/2004: specific hygiene rules for food of animal origin (lays down specific requirements for food businesses dealing with foods of animal origin); and

• Regulation (EC) 854/2004: specific rules for the organisation of official controls on products of animal origin intended for human consumption.

Following publication of the consolidated EC Food Hygiene Regulations in 2004, a number of implementing regulations and transitional measures that support the application of the EC regulations have also been published, including Commission Regulation (EC) No 2073/2005 on microbiological criteria for foodstuffs.

New Zealand and the EC have a Treaty level Sanitary Agreement which recognises EC sanitary measures (including food controls) for almost all animals and animal products as equivalent to New Zealand requirements. The Agreement includes almost all animal products and the Annexes describe the conditions that apply to each product.

United States of America

In the United States of America (USA), the production of raw milk products is regulated by individual states, some of which allow for their manufacture and sale. For example, the sale of raw drinking milk is legal in 26 of the 50 states in the USA. The raw milk regulations differ between states but can contain requirements for warning labels; licensing; restriction of sales to the farm gate or to individuals who have a signed prescription from a physician; and limits on the period that raw milk can be sold from the time when a farmer fills a milk container.

Federal law bans the movement between states of all locally manufactured or imported raw milk products, except for certain cheeses which must be aged for a minimum of 60 days at a set temperature.

Canada

The sale of raw drinking milk is strictly prohibited under Canadian Food and Drug Regulations. However, like the USA, some Canadian provinces permit the sale of some raw milk cheeses that have been stored for at least 60 days at a set temperature. There is also an agreement between the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and French authorities which allows for the importation of raw milk soft and semi-soft cheeses and exempts these French products from having to satisfy the requirement for 60 days storage.

Canada has recently attempted tighter regulatory control with respect to soft and semi-soft cheeses. For this purpose, a Code of Hygienic Practice, developed by Health Canada, has been distributed for comment amongst provincial and territorial governments.

Canada has also developed education campaigns that attempt to raise awareness of the potential hazards associated with raw milk cheeses.

The province of Quebec recently gazetted regulations (July 2008) containing provisions applying to the preparation of raw milk or unpasteurised soft or semi-soft cheeses sold without a minimum 60-day ripening period at a set temperature.

¹⁶ Defined as products made from milk that has not been treated beyond 40 degrees Celsius or undergone any treatment that has an equivalent effect.