Calif. legislature takes on raw milk

FRESNO, Calif. -- The battle over raw milk will move from the courtroom back to the California Legislature this week.A Central Valley lawmaker plans to introduce a bill that would overturn new state health regulations that a Kerman dairy has been fighting for months.The proposal by state Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, comes just a week after a Superior Court judge upheld the new standard, designed to promote cleanliness at the state's two raw milk dairies. The legislation, to be co-authored by Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland, would eliminate bacteria limits that treat raw milk like pasteurized milk. Instead, labs would test more for disease-causing pathogens such as E. coli.The bill is supported by the dairies but is likely to face resistance from farm regulators who pushed for the current limit of 10 coliform bacteria per milliliter of raw milk.Kerman's Organic Pastures supplies raw milk to about 300 California stores, including Whole Foods. The other producer is Claravale Farms Inc. in San Benito County.The dairies say the state's new bacteria limit devalues their products and could force them out of business. Many consumers-- there are about 40,000 statewide-- like the "helpful" bacteria in raw milk, saying it aids digestion and keeps sickness away."Basically, if we implement what the state has passed, you won't see raw milk in California anymore," Florez said.Regulators say the limit ensures cleanliness and that dirty dairies are more likely to breed pathogens."The standard that is in place is reasonable and attainable," said Department of Food and Agriculture spokesman Steve Lyle. The limit is "one more step to protect the public health." The department does not have an official position on the Florez bill, he said.The legislation calls for the dairies to send milk samples to an independent lab twice a week, in addition to monthly tests done on site by state regulators.The independent labs would test for E. coli, forwarding the results to the state. Bacteria levels also would be checked. But a dairy could only be shut down if specific harmful pathogens are found and verified.E-mail E.J. Schultz at eschultz(at)fresnobee.com (Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)