Cheesed off by safety regulations

Author GK Chesterton once wrote “The poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese.” Not so Slow Food Australia which has this week launched a public campaign supporting the right of local artisan cheesemakers to produce raw milk cheeses and consumers to eat them. As it stands at the moment Food Standards Australian New Zealand (FSANZ) regulations prevent it due to concerns about its safety, especially in soft curd styles.

Raw-milk cheese is made from milk that has not been subjected to pasteurisation or an equivalent process to remove bacteria. Unfortunately, pasteurisation also removes much of the variation and complexity of flavour found in raw milk. Raw milk cheeses are currently made across Europe and North America and many hard-curd varieties such as emmentaler, gruyere, parmigiano-reggiano and pecorino romano, and since 2004 roquefort, are imported into Australia.

Supporters of the campaign say that Australia is being left behind the rest of the world and local artisan cheesemakers and consumers are the ones who are suffering. At the very least people should be given the freedom to make their own minds up about the issue.

Interestingly, New Zealand, which usually stands with Australia on issues surrounding food safety, is currently preparing to lift its own ban on the manufacture of unpasteurised cheeses.

If you’re interested in standing up for your right to make your own decisions about the safety of raw milk cheeses (What do we want? Variety in cheese! When do we want it? Now!) visit Slow Food Australia's website for more information on the campaign.