Some interesting quotes and figures from Bill Chirdon, director of Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Food Safety regarding the sale of raw milk, as reported in the American Agriculturalist. Chirdon warned potential sellers to closely examine the decision, addressing the sellers liability for sales of contaminated product:
It’s an enormous risk….There are times when insurance companies don’t even know producers are marketing raw milk. Producers need multi-million-dollar coverage, and it’s very expensive.
Bill Marler recently took an in depth look at the risks involved in retailing raw milk, here. Chirdon also had some compelling statistics on bacterial testing of raw milk in Pennsylvania. According to Chirdon, in 2007, 8.4% of (Pennsylvania) raw milk tested positive for pathogenic bacteria. He reports a decrease in positive results this year, at less than 2%, and touts this as improvement. No doubt 2% is less than 8%, but to have 1 in 50 samples of a food product testing positive for pathogenic bacteria ought to be giving consumers, retailers, and insurers reason to rethink their choice.