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.
Your article is from September 21, 2010? Haven’t things changed? Whole Foods Market – Las Vegas sells Organic Valley.. What do you have to say Whole Foods Market.. Start by sending the link above asking why would Wholefoods sell Organic Valley.. I just did.. http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/customer-service
I would rather buy subpasteurized (which heats the milk slowly instead of immediately and at the lower temp) than regular store bought cheese. Sometimes your options are limited and you have to choose the best you can.
Eric Pardue we just bought you organic valley raw cheese. Maybe that was the problem w/ it-it’s not really raw. We’ll stick with our farmer’s cheese
I usually only get the cheese from Whole Foods that is labeled under the ingredients “raw cow’s milk,” “raw goat’s milk.” or “unpasteurized cow’s/goat’s milk.”
I just noticed that the packaging label has changed to state that it’s processed below a certain temp. That’s new so I’m disappointed. :/
Nothing is ever as it seems…Sigh.
I was very unhappy to find out raw does not mean raw. I should have know because of the California regulations to allow pastuerized almonds to be labelled raw.
I just called Grafton Village Cheese company in Vermont and was told their “raw” cheeses are heated to just 154 degrees (under the limit) and were still considered raw. Of course their prices are high for these “raw” cheeses.
What a scam!
Thank you Charlene for clearing this up – I was just about to post a question about Grafton Farms because I have been paying that premium price for their “raw” cheese for awhile. So disappointing. There is clearly a market for products that people like us want to buy – maybe someone should get a “kickstarter” loan to start a national online food distributor (think of Trader Joe’s type presence in the market with that kind of buying clout.) Then all of us across the country could just order and buy our products online and have our groceries “delivered” like the old days.
I’m planning on ordering some raw cheese in bulk. Is it ok to freeze it?
It’s fine to freeze. the texture tends to be crumbly after freezing. Sometimes I grate it before freezing.
Here’s the direct quote: “The pasteurization process begins once the cream is separated from the milk. The milk is warmed to just above 80°F for 15 seconds”.
But they also clearly say their cheese IS pasteurized?
That’s strange. Maybe it’s a typo and they meant 80 degrees celsius? IMO you should call them to clarify. But anyway if their cheese isn’t certified organic, I’d go with another brand.
Hi Sarah,
I just read on Kerrygold’s website that their grass-fed cheese is heated to “just under 80 degrees fahrenheit for 15 seconds.” Would this be considered raw?