In yet another case of labeling tricks and deception where store bought food is concerned, many brands of raw cheese produced in the United States and sold at the healthfood store and specialty shops are anything but.
Organic Valley, the corporate behemoth that has gone to the Dark Side where raw, fresh, organic, healthgiving grassfed milk is concerned is not surprisingly the worst offender of this loophole in the USDA regulations.
According to Federal Law 7 (CFR 58.438):
“If the cheese is labeled as pasteurized, the milk shall be pasteurized by subjecting every particle of milk to a minimum temperature of 161 degrees Fahrenheit for not less than 15 [fifteen] seconds or by any other acceptable combination of temperature and time treatment approved by the Administrator.”
For FLUID PRODUCTS, “vat pasteurization” is defined as heating at 145 degrees Fahrenheit for at least 30 minutes; heating at 161 degrees for at least 15 seconds is called “high temperature short time pasteurization” [7 CFR 58.101].
What does this mean in layman’s terms?
It means that any cheese where the milk is heated to a temperature under 161 degrees Fahrenheit or less than 15 seconds could be called “raw” and labeled as such according to this definition!
Organic Valley admits on its website that its raw cheese is “subpasteurized”, but fails to identify just how close subpasteurized is to the real thing. This is typical marketing deception and labeling games by a company which, many months ago, I stopped buying products from.
Subpasteurization still heats the milk to an obscenely high temperature which destroys nutrition and enzymes. Calling such a product “raw” is deceptive, misleading, if not downright insulting to the sensibilities and intelligence of its customers.
While Organic Valley is no doubt the worst offender of this regulatory loophole, any other cheese sold in stores, produced in the United States and labeled as “raw” is also likely heated to subpasteurization temperatures. Even “raw” goat cheese would fall under this loophole.
I called the company Tree of Life which also produces “raw” cheese sold in healthfood stores, but my questions about the true rawness of their cheeses were not answered and requests for a return call from someone who could provide me with answers were not returned.
On a positive note, a very small dairy near my metro area which sells raw goat cheese in stores around town was very upfront and forthright with their answers about how the cheese is produced. This dairy does truly produce raw cheese as the milk is only warmed to 98F which is well within the limits for enzyme and nutrient preservation.
Buy Local from a Trusted Small Farm
The lesson to be learned here is that the only way to be sure that the cheese you buy comes from truly raw milk is to buy from a preferably local, small dairy farm that specializes in cheesemaking and to talk to the cheesemaker yourself. To find a small farm near you, check out the Real Milk website or contact your local Weston A. Price Foundation Chapter Leaders from around the world for their list of locally produced goods.
If you don’t have a local dairy farm near you that makes cheese, contact the Weston A. Price Foundation and order the 2010 Shopping Guide for $3 plus shipping. This handy little brochure fits in your pocket or purse and lists many small farms across North America where you can mail order truly raw cheese.
And, whatever you do, don’t buy the fake “raw” cheese from Organic Valley!
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
Many thanks to Pete Kennedy, Esq. of the Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund for tracking down the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) references for this article.
We are so limited on raw dairy products here. There is only one place to buy raw milk here and no where to get raw butter, cheese, etc. How depressing. I'm not sure what kind of cheese to buy at the store now. Do you know what kind of national brands of cheese are from grass fed cows, if any?
We also stopped buying OV months ago. Any company that would prevent people (like my growing children!) from getting fresh raw milk does not deserve my support. Fresh, nutritious food should be available to everyone. We only have one source for raw milk in our area and I could not imagine what we would do if some company came in and took that away. I have seen such a big improvement in my families health since we starting consuming raw milk 7 months ago.
There is an Amish community called Brazos De Dio near Waco, TX that has EXCELLENT (real) raw cheeses and grass fed beef at reasonable prices. They will even teach you how to make homemade cheese in one of their classes.
you are so lucky. I have check amish food here in NY and it is still cook to dead. sad.
Sarah, if your mail order cheese was very crumbly it was probably frozen before you got it. Make sure you ask for cheese that has never been frozen and try another farm that doesn't freeze its cheese.
Beth, it is my understanding that you can actually heat milk to 118F and still preserve the nutrition and enzymes. Even one degree higher and enzyme death begins. Interestingly, this is the same temperature at which if you stuck your finger in the milk it would burn you!
That's a good idea! I mail-ordered some raw cheese a few years ago, and it was awfully expensive and very crumbly. But I should look into it again to see what there is available now! Thanks!
I had no idea that the 'unpasteurized' label was a pass for cooking milk. Quite sobering. Puts a lot of us back to square one.
Sarah, you wrote that milk warmed to 98F is well within the limits for enzyme and nutrient preservation. Could you remind us of the enzyme-safe temperature range? I've heard Sally Fallon say food enzymes are destroyed at 118F wet heat and 150F dry heat — could you clarify wet vs dry heat? (Does it mean liquid food vs solid food?)
The temp range would be helpful to have in mind when shopping for raw cheese and talking with farmers and local cheese makers.
Thanks for another illuminating post!
– Beth
What we look for in cheese depends on what we are going to use it for. If I'm going to cook it in a dish I look for cheeses from grassfed (no grain or soy) cows. I have had much luck finding them in a few local health food stores, one even calls me before making their order to see if I will be in to purchase. If I'm going to heat it up anyway there is no reason to pay a premium for raw or try to untangle the labeling loopholes. Now if I'm going to eat it raw or use it to garnish/top a dish then it gets trickier. I have found the WAPF shopping guide, as well as http://www.realmilk.com, very helpful. Still, the pickings can be slim. When my toddler and my upcoming baby get old enough that I can I plan to learn to make my own cheese. Until then I am blessed to have family in great dairy areas that have cheese shipped to me. Much like my menus are decided by what produce is in season, it is also decided by what cheese I can get my hot little hands on.
Unfortunately companies like OV have grown too big to serve the local, seasonal, as God and nature intended food crowd. I will say that organic versions of conventional products were a first step on my journey to more thoughtful food choices. But for my family, that step is long past.
I'm so bummed. Their raw cheese was the only OV product that I bought and my kids love it. :o(
Welcome to the Other Side, Gina, where consumers are SAVVY and not fooled by Big Food or Big Pharma propaganda and who know what REAL FOOD and REAL HEALTH is all about.
Gina, try to find low temp (vat) pasteurized, non homogenized whole milk at your health food store until you can locate a clean local source of whole organic milk from jersey or guernsey cows. If your healthfood store does not carry such a brand, request that they order Natural by Nature whole milk in glass bottles. Good luck on your new adventure!