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My oldest child who starts college this Fall recently returned from a trip to visit his Grandparents in Australia. Down Under, raw milk is totally illegal. You can’t even buy it at the farm! Rather ironic for a British Commonwealth country where the Queen drinks unpasteurized raw milk and had her dairy farmer Adrian Tomlinson bottle it up fresh and deliver to grandsons William and Harry when they attended boarding school at Eton! (1)
Ah yes, that age old problem of one rule for the nobles and another for the peasants.
For a child raised on raw milk who has never tasted pasteurized (nor does he want to), this presented quite a challenge. He loves his raw milk drinking close to a quart per day. The thought of going without it for his entire visit Down Under was baffling to him. How could a food so nutritious and ancestral be illegal?
In the hunt for a raw milk source, his Grandmother discovered a potential solution – cold pressed milk.
What is Cold Pressed Milk?
Never a people to be kept down, some clever Aussies have patented a new way to process milk so that some of its essential rawness is preserved. This while ensuring that any pathogenic microbes are totally eliminated.
Developed by farmers Stuart and Haley for their herd of jersey cows in New South Wales, cold pressing milk involves using pressure instead of heat to process it. This technique subjects the milk bottles to intense pressure equivalent to taking them six times deeper than the deepest part of the ocean. The intense isostatic cold water pressure compresses both the bottle and the milk inside for several minutes. (2)
These scrappy dairymen dubbed their company “Made by Cow”. They claim that their milk is the “World’s First Safe To Drink Raw Milk.”
But is this milk really raw as marketed on the bottle and company website?
Unfortunately, no it is not.
High Pressure Processing (HPP) of Milk
According to a New South Wales Food Authority spokesperson, the high pressure processing (HPP) used by Made by Cow is already in use around the world for other types of foods. These include juices, applesauce, dips, salsas, meat products and seafood (3).
High Pressure Processing (HPP) is considered a form of pasteurization by the food industry and the government. Hence, calling milk processed using HPP equipment “raw” is highly misleading.
Food Enzymes in Cold Pressed Milk
HPP changes food enzymes in unpredictable ways. But, since they are altered, any food treated with it can no longer be considered raw including cold pressed juice (4). Unfortunately, current food labeling regulations allow it to be marketed as raw. This loophole is similar to the one that allows cheese made from milk heated to just below pasteurization temperature to be labeled raw cheese. In fact, it isn’t “raw” at all.
The good news is that the HPP process doesn’t directly destroy live enzymes like heat pasteurization does. They can survive for 5-7 days.
So if you drink your cold pressed milk within a week of milking and processing, you are going to get some of the essential enzymes. This includes the all important lactase for digesting the lactose (milk sugar) and phosphatase to absorb the calcium among others.
The bad news is that the shelf life of cold pressed milk is far longer than 7 days. In some cases, you may be buying “raw” milk that is weeks old!
Therefore, if you choose to buy it, make sure you know the day the milk was processed. This will ensure you’re actually getting some enzymes for the premium price.
Cold Pressed Milk Contains NO Probiotics
High pressure processing of raw milk destroys all pathogens. This is why Made by Cow is allowed to sell it in retail stores in Australia.
However, one of the tests for successful pasteurization of foods is that all microbes are destroyed both good and bad. It doesn’t matter if heat or pressure was used.
Hence, probiotics are long gone in cold pressed milk. Since this is one of the huge benefits of drinking raw milk, calling cold pressed milk raw is not only misleading, it is downright false.
Worse, these claims by Made by Cow are confusing raw milk drinkers. Several customers from Down Under have already emailed me about why their cold pressed milk left out on the counter won’t clabber like raw milk does.
The company website says this on the matter:
While we have a zero tolerance policy for pathogens we are not a sterilisation method, so yes, bacteria does remain in our milk. While we have spent our time and money on the food safety aspect of our milk we do intend to analyse the active bacteria in our milk. We will commence this testing shortly and plan to put these findings on our website once we have completed this work. (3)
This answer is extremely misleading! The fact is that no bacteria remain in cold pressed milk else Made by Cow wouldn’t have approval to sell it in Australia. In addition, customers are already discovering that it doesn’t clabber on the counter to make liquid whey and raw cream cheese. It rots just like heat pasteurized milk.
Do not Use Cold Pressed Milk for Homemade Formula
Because the enzymes in cold pressed raw milk are altered and there are no probiotics, it is an inappropriate choice for homemade infant formula.
To make cold pressed milk acceptable for this purpose, first culture into homemade kefir or yogurt. Then use as the base for the baby formula recipe.
The Good News about Cold Pressed “Raw” Milk
In summary, while cold pressed milk is definitely not raw, it isn’t as damaged or as allergenic as milk processed by heat pasteurization.
The partially altered food enzymes are present for about a week after processing. This also indicates that the carrier proteins for the vitamins are not destroyed either. This bodes well for a product that is nutritionally similar to raw milk as claimed by the company.
Nonhomogenized and Grassfed
Another great thing about Made by Cow’s cold pressed milk is that it is not homogenized. This means a distinct creamline is visible when the milk sits in the refrigerator.
Homogenization is almost universally used on heat treated milk – both conventional and organic. It eliminates the natural creamline which hides poor quality, low cream milk from consumer eyes. It also oxidizes some of the cholesterol. While natural cholesterol has many benefits to health, oxidized cholesterol does not and should be avoided.
Made by Cow’s cold pressed milk is also grassfed. It comes from pastured jersey cows that are not subjected to antibiotics or steroids. The farm follows sustainable practices and is accredited as such in the national Fertsmart program.
Cold Pressed Milk Tastes Great
My son is quite a connoisseur of raw milk having tasted it from a wide variety of farms. Here’s what he had to say about how cold pressed raw milk tastes in comparison to really raw milk:
I have grown up drinking raw milk, and it is my favorite food in the whole world. However, when I go on trips I find the raw milk in other areas sometimes tastes very cow-y or overly grassy. However, I had a much better experience with Cold Pressed Raw Milk in Australia.
I did not have to adjust to the new taste at all. Though it tasted slightly different from my raw milk at home, drinking it was no problem and it tasted great. It saved me from going a long time without my food staple, and I am so happy to share the experience with you. I hope that those of you who are unable to buy raw milk find this option to be satisfying.
Look for cold pressed milk to spread to other farms around Australia and other countries and states hostile to raw milk. My concern is that the misleading marketing will dampen consumer enthusiasm for rolling back antiquated pasteurization laws as the popularity of REAL raw milk continues to spread.
Hello Sarah,
Thank you for this post, it is very informative. I would love to have access to raw products for the benefits, it seems that people are concerned for the potential risk of getting sick. Would you know of any way to increase awareness, and make raw milk more accessible/legalised?
It must be nice to have the choices you seem to think the rest of us have. Australia isn’t the only place you can’t get it. Raw milk illegal in Ontario Canada and the only grass fed butter I have been able to find comes from New Zealand and is more than 4 times the cost of conventional organic butter.
Here’s an article on how some folks in Canada are getting their raw milk and other raw dairy easily and legally. Perhaps it can help you. https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/how-to-get-raw-milk-in-canada/
As Andy said, raw milk is available here in NSW. It’s just had to labeled as “Bath Milk”, with the words “for cosmetic purposes only” on the bottle. It’s much more affordable than the cold pressed “raw” milk.
While I know that many people who subscribe to a traditional way of eating are, indeed, Christian. There are many people who are not. And the comment about the reason why raw milk is not allowed is due to the “Zionist Government” is anti-semitic and should have no place in this forum.
I have been drinking raw milk here in Australia for a few years now and it is sold, as made in one of the comments above, as ‘Bath Milk/Yogurt/Butter’. I buy it from in a Sunday organic market in Brisbane where the person selling it is not even allowed to discuss the possibility of drinking it with you and only will speak about the products in regards to putting them on your body. The two brands I have seen available are Cleopatras Bath Milk and Heavenly Bath Milk. I often find at least one of those brands in organic butchers here in addition to many of the health food stores I have come across. About 4 years back, the first time I bought it I asked the lady if this was the raw milk I could drink and she jokingly asked me if I was ‘wearing a wire?’.
Good to know. Thanks for sharing!
So glad you wrote this Sarah. And glad to see all your additional comments too, and the emphasis on kefir and yogurt. I think we need to keep putting this issue out there, as HPP is sure to spread, and we need to make people aware of the good and the bad.
I was heartbroken when I learned of this HPP a while back, exactly for the reasons that you mentioned. So deceptive. I’ve been wanting to write my own posts about this issue for a while, and will be doing milk seminars.
I have similar problems living in Japan, as truly raw milk is nearly impossible to get. The best I can get here is 64C (147F) grass-fed non-homogenized milk in specialty shops at four or five times the price. The best in a supermarket is 66C (151) homogenized (not grass-fed). I never drink it. I use them to make kefir and yogurt. Still hunting for truly raw milk (from a cow or goat). Most people here drink 120C or 130C (248F or 266F), which is not UHT (135C/275F), but still terrible. Of course there are many additional factors that affect our milk.
I am concerned that the HPP is also denaturing the cholesterol in a similar way that homogenization does, as homogenization is also a pressure based process. I do not have the answers yet, but I hope to see a lot more on this issue soon.
Thanks for replying Sarah. That’s helpful. Maybe it is different between Australian states, but where I live it is no longer possible to get true raw milk under any circumstances. I use the low temp (vat) pasteurized milk to make kefir and yogurt. I will consider the cold pressed for occasional drinking.
Isn’t it sad that we now have to start calling raw milk “really raw milk” or “true raw milk” because some are now abusing the term calling cold pressed milk “raw” when it is nothing of the sort? These are the shenanigans Big Food is famous for in order to confuse and trick consumers into buying something that isn’t what they think it is. Small farms should not stoop to using these misleading tactics and play semantic games with consumers! Just say what your product is and isn’t. What is so hard about that? Cold pressed milk is better than vat pasteurized .. it is a step up so the product can stand on its own merit. No need to fool people about it and have them waste money trying to clabber a dead product on the counter only to find out it rots and isn’t really raw.
Thanks, I’ve been wanting this information. The price is VERY expensive.
I would also really like to know how the cold pressed milk compares to low temperature pasteurized milk, which is the other option we have in Australia. Any info you can share on that would be much appreciated.
I was just talking to my husband about this last night! LOL I was thinking of writing a post on the different levels of processing milk.
Of course, raw milk is BEST. Get that if you are fortunate enough to have a source. Second best would be the cold pressed milk followed by vat (low temp) pasteurized, then regular pasteurized and finally ultrapasteurized (UHT) milk is worst. Personally, I would only consider possibly drinking cold pressed milk if raw was unavailable. I would NOT do a milk fast or anything like that with cold pressed milk like you can with grassfed raw milk. Some folks do this for a week or so in the spring or fall. I’ve done it myself in the past (written about on this blog). Again, only do something like that with grassfed REALLY RAW milk.
I would also not recommend drinking vat (low temp) pasteurized as testing shows the proteins are still incredibly denatured from the process. Vat pasteurized milk cultured into yogurt or kefir would be ok. Any pasteurized, homogenized or UHT milk is unacceptable in any form IMO. Just too allergenic and too much nutrition destroyed.
Cold pressed milk early testing indicates the proteins may be ok. For now at least! I’m sure more testing will reveal further info on this in the coming years. Hope that helps 🙂
In Australia, we have replaced the Queen of England with the Queen of Australia which is essentially the Zionist Government. The peasants are clueless to this so they keep voting for this controlling Government to dictate their lives. The Government tells them vaccinations are essential, so nearly all vaccinate their poor kids, hence the high rate of diseases including autism and cancer.
In regards to raw milk, it can easily be purchased as bath milk. I have been drinking it for 6 yrs, I used it to help cure my Ankylosing Spondylitis 5 yrs ago, a condition brainwashed doctors think can’t be cured.
The controlling Government here is actively working against people’s will and health, so informed Aussies have to take the responsibility of health back in their own hands.
Interesting! I’d never heard of this before. While it’s definitely misleading it sounds like at least a lesser of two evils choices if you can’t get raw. Although Australia makes their own laws you would think they would at least consider how the Queen has stayed so healthy!
It does seem ok to drink based on my son’s experience. Just get it freshly processed so you get some (altered) enzymes and know that there are ZERO probiotics in it so you can’t clabber for other purposes or use for gut rebalancing efforts. You also cannot use for homemade baby formula unless you culture it into kefir or yogurt first!
I would imagine folks that are sensitive to pasteurized dairy probably will have issues with it. Best to get REAL raw milk! Seems very expensive too for what you get — $5 for 3/4 of a liter??? Wow.