Real deal or no deal? A comparative analysis of raw milk cheese regulation in Australia and France

Australia’s regulatory framework has resulted in the standardisation of cheese production based on pasteurisation. Up until early 2015, regulations effectively prohibited raw milk cheese-making in Australia and thus stifled artisanal on-farm production. Although the introduction of Food Standards Australia New Zealand Standard 4.2.4 has allowed the production of certain hard, low-moisture raw milk cheeses, the new standard is rigid and does not encourage new entrants into the emerging raw milk cheese consumer market. This article compares the Australian system with the French raw milk cheese regulation and production system, and argues that its approach in encouraging and supporting small farmhouse artisanal traditional raw milk cheese is beneficial to both producer and consumer, and has not resulted in any significant health risks. The Australian approach amounts to a missed opportunity to encourage the emergence of a value-added industry with local and export potential, and is at odds with important movements in food policy, such as recognition of the value of localism and terroir

Endogenous adjusted Output Quotas - The Abolishment of the Raw Milk Quota in the European Union

This paper discusses an approach to implement output quotas in the GTAP model which permits an endogenous adjustment of both the supplied quantity and the quota rent. Since the quota rent is interpreted as additional earnings of the factors used no change of the worldwide GTAP data base is required. Several modifications of the GTAP model and two exogenous coefficients are necessary. Considering uncertain values of one of the coefficients, systematic sensitivity analysis is applied. The abolishment of the raw milk quota in the European Union would lead to a remarkable decrease in raw milk prices in most member countries. The raw milk production increases in Denmark, Ireland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands while it declines in Greece and Portugal. In the other member countries the raw milk production changes slightly.general equilibrium model, GTAP, output quota, raw milk production, sensitivity analysis, Agribusiness,

Consumers' behavior in quantitative microbial risk assessment for pathogens in raw milk: Incorporation of the likelihood of consumption as a function of storage time and temperature

Foodborne disease as a result of raw milk consumption is an increasing concern in Western countries. Quantitative microbial risk assessment models have been used to estimate the risk of illness due to different pathogens in raw milk. In these models, the duration and temperature of storage before consumption have a critical influence in the final outcome of the simulations and are usually described and modeled as independent distributions in the consumer phase module. We hypothesize that this assumption can result in the computation, during simulations, of extreme scenarios that ultimately lead to an overestimation of the risk. In this study, a sensorial analysis was conducted to replicate consumers' behavior. The results of the analysis were used to establish, by means of a logistic model, the relationship between time\u2013temperature combinations and the probability that a serving of raw milk is actually consumed. To assess our hypothesis, 2 recently published quantitative microbial risk assessment models quantifying the risks of listeriosis and salmonellosis related to the consumption of raw milk were implemented. First, the default settings described in the publications were kept; second, the likelihood of consumption as a function of the length and temperature of storage was included. When results were compared, the density of computed extreme scenarios decreased significantly in the modified model; consequently, the probability of illness and the expected number of cases per year also decreased. Reductions of 11.6 and 12.7% in the proportion of computed scenarios in which a contaminated milk serving was consumed were observed for the first and the second study, respectively. Our results confirm that overlooking the time\u2013temperature dependency may yield to an important overestimation of the risk. Furthermore, we provide estimates of this dependency that could easily be implemented in future quantitative microbial risk assessment models of raw milk pathogens

Analyse des risques microbiens du lait cru local à Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire)

The hygiene practices during milking, the microbiological and chemical quality of cow raw milk from production to sale were studied in 15 small dairies in Abidjan. The analysis of raw milk quality showed that 81.5% of raw milk taken udders of cow were of good quality, against 35.30% for raw milk on sale. The average of Coliforms was 8.7.103 cfu/ml for raw milk taken cow’s udder, 3.2.105 cfu/ml for raw milk in tank and 9.9.105 cfu/ml for raw milk sales. The udders of cows, hands of milkers were identified as primary sources of milk contamination. The utensils (farmer, vendor) and environment were identified as major sources of secondary contamination. In addition, 24.7% of milk contained antibiotics and 50% of raw milk on sale were wet with water. The occurrence of food borne diseases is significantly related to the behavior of consumption of unpasteurized raw milk (P<0.05) with a relative risk of 2.81 (95%CI: 1.17 – 6.78). The zootechnical management of actors and popularization of good hygiene practices throughout the production chain are necessary for improvement of local milk quality

Assessing Market Functioning: The Case of the Hungarian Milk Chain

The paper discusses the impact of market power in the Hungarian milk chain. In a first step a vector error correction model is estimates to assess whether a domestic market for raw milk exists. Since the answer was positive we proceed by developing a structural market model of the Hungarian market for raw milk that is able to identify a possible affect of market power on resource allocation. A nonlinear 3SLS approach was applied to estimate the supply and the demand for raw milk. The results provide that despite the high concentration of in dairy processing the indications for market poser are rather limited. The Bertrand like equilibrium can be attributed to the low degree of capacity utilization in dairy processing and the marketing alternative of farmers.market power, market integration, dairy, Hungary., Livestock Production/Industries, Marketing,

Price Equivalent Impacts of the DDA in the Korean Raw-milk Market

This study estimates the potential impacts of the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) on the Korean raw-milk market. The DDA has not reached an agreement yet. Although there are different attitudes about several issues such as Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM), Sensitive Products (SP), and Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) creation, WTO member countries have reached an agreement for major issues of the modalities in the DDA. Hence, this study estimates the impacts of the DDA that will finally reach an agreement sooner or later. For estimating the impacts of the DDA, this study makes a dairy trade model for the Korean dairy industry and measures the impacts of the DDA in terms of raw-milk price for fluid use incurred by further tariff cuts in the Korean dairy market by the DDA. This study considers several scenarios because the status of Korea is not settled yet and a country can select dairy products as sensitive products, special products, or general products and a country can select different options in each category. The results of this study can be used for preparing policies for subsidizing the domestic raw-milk producers to rebalance their loss in the raw-milk market incurred by the DDA.DDA, dairy, milk, tariff, price equivalent, Agricultural and Food Policy, Demand and Price Analysis, International Relations/Trade, Livestock Production/Industries,

Public Health Rep

The authors sought to determine the prevalence of raw milk consumption in California--the largest producer of certified raw milk in the United States--and to describe the demographic and behavioral characteristics of raw milk consumers in that state.|The authors analyzed responses to questions on the 1994 California Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey that asked respondents about whether they drank raw milk, the amount consumed, the reason for drinking raw milk, and where raw milk was most often obtained.|Among 3999 survey respondents, 3.2% reported drinking raw milk in the previous year. Raw milk drinkers were more likely than nondrinkers to be younger than age 40, male, and Hispanic and to have less than a high school education.|Raw milk continues to be consumed by some residents of California despite the documented hazards associated with this dietary practice.9323394PMCnul

Variation in Mineral Composition of Raw Milk of Cow and Sheep Breeds from Kano and Jigawa States, Nigeria, with Season

The study evaluates the effects of seasons on mineral compositions of the raw milk of cow and sheep breeds. The study was conducted at Fulani settlements within Kano and Jigawa states, Nigeria. Raw milk samples were analysed for mineral elements using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS) and Flame Emission Spectrophotometer (FES). The results of the present analyses showed that K had the highest concentration, while Mn had the lowest in all the breeds during rainy season (RS) and dry season (DS). K, Na, and Mn were highest in cow breeds for the RS and DS, while Ca, P, Mg and Zn were highest in sheep breeds during the RS and DS, Among the cow breeds Ca, P, Fe, Mn and Cu were highest in the raw milk of Red Bororo cow (RBC) for both RS and DS, K, Na and Zn were highest in the raw milk of White Fulani cow (WFC) during the RS and DS, while Mg was highest in the raw milk of Sokoto Gudali cow (SGC) during the RS and DS. For sheep breeds Ca, Mg and Zn were highest in the raw milk of Uda sheep (US) during the RS and DS, K, P, Na and Mn were highest in the raw milk of (BS) during the RS and DS, while Fe and Cu were highest in the raw milk of (YS) during the RS and DS. Generally K, P, Na and Mn were high in the raw milk of cow breeds during Rainy season (RS), while Ca, Fe, Mg, Zn and Cu were high during RS in the raw milk of sheep breeds. Some of the nutritional elements concentrations were below the Institute of Medicine (IOM) standard requirements for human consumption. There is a need for improvement of the local breeds in the nutritional elements to meet the standard requirements.Keywords: raw milk, breeds, mineral compositio

Infusion pasteurization of milk: Influence on the viscosity and casein micelle size

Milk is normally heat treated in order to obtain safe dairy products with an elongated shelf life as compared to raw milk. New methods, such as infusion pasteurization, for heat treatment of milk are currently being developed. This provides an opportunity for treating milk in a manner that creates different or improved functional properties compared to traditional indirect pasteurization. Infusion pasteurization has a time-temperature profile characterized by very rapid heating to relatively high temperatures, short holding times and very rapid cooling, which may lead to products with different properties as compared to products subjected to the standard low pasteurization at 72°C for 15s. Infusion pasteurization was performed on raw milk with two different holding times (0.1s and 0.7s) and for each holding time samples were drawn at three different temperatures (80°C, 100°C, and 120°C). Samples were compared to raw milk and to milk from the same batch subjected to a standard pasteurization at 72°C for 15s. The size of the casein micelles and the viscosity were measured in skimmed milk samples, using dynamic light scattering and capillary viscometri, respectively. The results showed a broadening of the size distributions of the casein micelles as the temperature of the infusion pasteurization increased from 80°C to 120°C with no marked difference between the two holding times. The viscosity also increased with increasing intensity of the infusion pasteurization treatment. Little or no difference was seen between the raw milk, the standard pasteurization and the infusion treatments at 80°C regarding both casein micelle size and viscosity. The observed changes in the investigated physical properties of the infusion pasteurization treated milk indicate that this novel pasteurization process might result in milk with altered functionality when used in the production of dairy products. This is currently under investigation

Enterococci and their ability to form a biofilm

Number of enterococci determined in raw milk cistern samples was in range of 2.95 to 4.18 log CFU.ml-1 and raw milk samples obtained from storage tanks contained enterococci count in the range of 3.04 to 4.51 log CFU.ml-1. Results of microbiological quality evaluation showed, that count of enterococci increased during cold storage of raw milk. Portion of enterococci from the total microflora of raw milk taken from cistern samples was 0.44 %, otherwise in raw milk samples taken from storage tanks portion of enterococci decreased to 0.38 %. Among enterococci isolates  E. faecalis was the predominat species in tested samples of raw milk from both cistern – 58.1 % and storage tank – 71.7 %. The following species were identified E. faecium, E. group III., E. mundtii, E. casseliflavus. It was found that 38 % E. faecalis isolates were able to form a biofilm