Monday Moaning

Once upon a time we used to get milk from farms, those of us in the city had milk delivered to their gate by the milkman.

It was milk. Lovely milk with that layer of cream at the top of a glass bottle.

Bottle milk was pasteurised, but nothing other ‘ised’.

Then came homogenised milk, the layer of cream disappeared, although we were told it was still there.

Cream also came in the bottle, smaller with a different coloured top. It could be whipped into the most delicious whipped cream.

.

.

Then the milk companies took over, and it has been downhill ever since.

The rich cream attracted the birds, they would peck a hole in the foil tops to get it. Today you won’t see birds interested in milk, so what has happened?

Today, milk comes in boxes, the delightful tetrapak, and plastic bottles, gone is the cream, as we have ultraheat treated crap.

On the box they advertise ‘whole milk’ 3% butterfat – I say bullshit!

What happened to the other 0.5 – 1% butterfat? Without that it is not ‘whole’ milk. But the population today are so worried about obesity, that they think the milk companies are doing them a favour.

FAVOUR, my arse! They’re doing it to cheat you and make more profit!

The milk companies lobbied the governments and the laws became that you could only buy company milk. If you bought your milk from the farmer, the companies would make less profit, couldn’t have that now, could we? So buying milk from the source became illegal.

Many people didn’t like it, they wanted their whole fresh milk back. So some stores and farmers bucked the law.

Selfridges raw milk sales prompts FSA prosecution on food safety charges

The Food Standards Agency is to charge the retailer over its vending machines that sold unpasteurised milk

Untreated milk from dairy cows can contain E coli and salmonella bacteria. Photograph: Getty Images Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Selfridges is being taken to court for potentially putting public health at risk by selling raw milk at its flagship London store, the government’s food watchdog has announced.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) began an investigation last year after Selfridges installed vending machines selling unpasteurised milk supplied by Sussex farmer Stephen Hook in December 2011.

Unpasteurised milk may contain bacteria such as salmonella and E coli, which can cause food poisoning, and the FSA warned at the time that the move was in breach of food hygiene regulations designed to protect consumer health. Westminster City Council was also monitoring what was regarded as a highly unusual situation.

Today the FSA confirmed it would be prosecuting Selfridges and Hook for potentially putting public health at risk. It said in a statement: “Summons have been served to both parties and a hearing date has been set for 6 February at Westminster magistrates court.”

Raw milk dispensers are hugely popular on the continent, allowing customers to fill their own glass bottles. But in Britain the sale of raw milk is much more tightly regulated. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, unpasteurised cows’ milk can only be sold direct to consumers from farms or the farmer, including farmers’ markets; in Scotland its sale is banned outright.

Hook, of Longleys Farm, has been selling raw milk since 2007 and says his customers like the taste of the product as well as the perceived health benefits – he claims beneficial bacteria usually destroyed by pasteurisation can reduce childhood illnesses such as hay fever and eczema.

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Opinion:

A threat to public health!!!

I was brought up on raw milk as a baby and a child, my kids were brought up on raw milk.

In 61+ years I have never seen a case of where a person got sick from drinking raw unpasteurised milk. There may have been, but not in my knowledge.

Is this a case of the companies scaremongering to make ONLY their product available to the people. Is the government being sucked in by the companies?

Stores like Selfridges should be applauded for giving the public what they want.

Real milk!

Not being prosecuted.

“food hygiene regulations designed to protect consumer health” should read… “food hygiene regulations designed to protect company wealth“.

People around the world should be giving their governments a clear message:

We want real milk!

And if you don’t take steps to give it to us, then get out of government!