Handmade Artisan Food Products: Is this Culinary Movement the Future?

[BridgeTroll]

...are they not exposing themselves to contaminations that would be avoided via pasteurization?

Yes and no.

With raw milk, I would really say that it is buyer beware. You have to know the condition in which the cattle are kept to be ensured that you are receiving safe, unpasteurized milk. As Josh mentioned with eggs, you can also pasteurize raw milk. Heating milk to 145 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes results in pasteurized milk that still has lots of flavor. (Most milk that you get in the grocery store has undergone ultra-high temperature (UHT) pasteurization at 265 to 300 degrees. Although it is heated for only a few seconds versus half an hour, such high temperatures destroy much of the flavor and gives the milk a slight cooked flavor.) Even if you know and trust your source, I would not advocate giving raw milk to infants, the elderly, or immunocompromised persons without pasteurizing it at home first.

Most shell eggs that you get at the grocery store have not been pasteurized. At last count at Publix, I believe only one brand was pasteurized. So, whether store bought or from your local farm, you may want to pasteurize your eggs--especially if you like your eggs runny or plan to use them uncooked (as in a mayonnaise, Caesar dressing, etc.) Simply heat them in a water bath to between 130 and 140 degrees (a candy thermometer works well for this) and hold them at that temperature for four to six minutes. (Don't go above 140, though, or you may coagulate some of the proteins in the egg white).

And finally, regardless of where you get them, the most dangerous thing that you can eat is---produce! According to the CDC about 40 percent of all reported food poisoning comes from contaminated produce. So wash those greens!

Awesome info JBD.  It is as I thought with regards to milk and eggs.  Trust your source, buyer beware, and if you may be immune deficient...pasteurize.  Wash those veggies!

Next question is with regards to poultry and meat sold from these farms.  These products again appear to be labeled "not for human consumption" based on the rules now in effect.  As a possible consumer this label could serve to scare me off and as a seller, I would be pretty unhappy putting that on my product.

[urbanlibertarian]

From Zester Daily:
http://zesterdaily.com/politics/411-a-raw-deal

A Raw Deal            
Farms selling milk straight from the cow vex food regulators -- but the demand isn't diminishing.

Wednesday, 24 February 2010
 

The word "raw" sounds like something exciting and maybe a little dangerous. It makes you think of bloody steaks and wrestlers and untanned hides. "Milk," on the other hand, evokes just the opposite: motherhood, kids with sippy cups, and Oscar-winning movies. Maybe it’s the uncomfortable juxtaposition of the two ideas that makes certain people so nervous about raw milk. As demand increases, state legislators, regulators and courts are all reexamining the issue of raw milk. But as some jurisdictions legalize while others crack down, farmers and milk drinkers are stuck in limbo.

Raw milk is simply ordinary milk that hasn’t been pasteurized. Pasteurization -- the quick heating and cooling of fresh milk -- kills bacteria that can cause food-borne illnesses. When Americans first began pasteurizing milk at the turn of the last century, testing was rudimentary and farms were far less hygienic. Milk quality varied tremendously, transit was slow and the milk that made it into cities often veered into unsafe territory. Pasteurization -- which eradicated Salmonella, E. coli and Listeria -- saved lives.

Today, the situation is different. Testing for the presence of such pathogens is much more precise, and farms are far cleaner. While processing milk remains a good choice for milk shipped to the population as a whole, there are a group of food rebels who would rather drink their milk straight from the cow. Some say they prefer the taste, calling it richer and more robust. Others say that pasteurization kills beneficial enzymes and helpful bacteria along with the baddies. Whatever their reasons for drinking the raw stuff, the proliferation of raw milk devotees willing to take a small risk for better dairy makes regulators unhappy, and they are looking for ways to crack down on milk speakeasies.

Federal law prohibits the transportation of raw milk across state lines for illicit purposes (i.e. selling the milk to consumers rather than processors). But 23 states currently ban the sale of raw milk within their borders as well. When federal or state regulators come across suspicious milk, they have a bad habit of pouring the stuff out first and asking questions later—much to the dismay of farmers who rely on the milk for their livelihood. The Midvalleyvu Family Farm, near Milwaukee, recently drew attention when a Wisconsin state legislator took up its cause after hearing that the regulatory agency that enforces the state’s ban on sales of raw milk had been investigating the owners for months, demanding bank records and canceled checks in addition to contacts and invoices for the farm’s suppliers. Midvalleyvu had been selling raw milk in defiance of the law -- but there had been no reported health problems or consumer complaints linked to the farm. Eventually the farm gave up selling raw milk.

But every time an outlet for raw milk gets shut down, a new one opens up, and fans find their way to the moo juice. In Pennsylvania, a Mennonite farmer named Mark Nolt has been a victim of the regulators’ zeal. Starting in 2008, state officials have repeatedly raided his property, confiscating equipment, destroying his inventory and harassing his family because they say he is selling raw milk and cheese in violation of state law. Feds showed up at another Pennsylvania homestead earlier this week, this time on the private land of Amish farmer Dan Allgyer, with a similar mission.

As it stands, the future of raw milk is far from clear. Pennsylvania lawmakers are working on revisions to close loophole in the state’s raw milk laws and the Cheese Reporter (yes, there is such a publication) reports that the FDA may be gearing up to tweak the rules on the aging of domestic raw milk cheese as well. But in other areas of the country, thinking on the issue of raw milk is evolving toward more choice for consumers. Two bills to legalize the sale of raw milk have been introduced in Georgia, for instance. And six other state legislatures are debating the issue as well.

Stephen Sundlof, director of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, said raw milk drinkers are getting “pretty clever” these days. In Canada, a test case recently yielded a victory for raw milk drinkers. Ontario farmer Michael Schmidt was vindicated by the Canadian courts in late January after three years of legal squabbling. While raw milk is legal to drink in Canada, it is illegal to sell. Dairy farmers, unlike their bovine charges, can be a pretty sharp bunch. Schmidt was distributing raw milk, but avoiding regulations by selling his customers a one-quarter ownership stake (good for six years) in each of the 150 cows he keeps at $300 a pop. They own the cow fragment outright, but pay him to provide milking and delivery service. The court ruled that this system was within legally permissible boundaries. (Note that another place this arrangement has cropped up is California, where marijuana cooperatives help medical pot patients work around a similar legal-to-use, illegal-to-sell situation. Contraband is contraband, no matter whether you smoke it or drink it.)

Raw milk is a hot issue right now, with state, local, and federal governments reevaluating their stance on milk as consumer demand increases. The rulemakers have a choice: They can work with the customers they are supposed to be protecting to help them get what they want, or they can declare raw milk drinkers and sellers the enemy and persecute them. Sundlof recently called the “continued and escalating interest in raw milk consumption” a “problem for this industry, and certainly it’s a problem for the FDA.” It’s precisely that attitude that is driving raw milk producers underground and into increasingly elaborate legal arrangements. And while lawmakers and bureaucrats dither, an awful lot of law-abiding farmers are finding that their milk is going sour and their patience is running out.
Katherine Mangu-Ward is a senior editor at Reason magazine.

[Gators312]

On trips to Ocala for work I drive right by Rosas Farms in Citra

http://www.alrosas.com/

A little farther south than Cognito, but they do deliver to Jax on the 2nd Monday of the month.  Orange Park Mall is the drop location. 

I think this is an interesting approach to healthier eating.

http://www.alrosas.com/Pragmatic_Organics.html

I think the slow food movement deserves as much support as possible.  It's not easy, but I can't agree more with Mr. Villadoniga's quote. 

But supporting local farms is not just about the fleeting “romance” of the moment, nor should this be a one day love affair.  Farmers need our support daily just as we need their food to nourish us day in and day out.  When you purchase local foods you are preserving a way of life.  You are supporting a family in our community, rather than a faceless corporation headquartered far away.  The dollars you spend on local foods are re-spent and reinvested in our own community.  They allow farmers to maintain open spaces and wildlife habitat and contribute to the conservation of wetlands and aquatic systems.  And since the average meal in America travels nearly 1,500 miles from farm to plate, local foods help reduce the amount of fossil fuels it takes to transport our calories and can lead to a significant reduction in the pollution associated with said transport.

Time and time again, our broken food system has posed grave danger to the American consumer.  Recalls of beef tainted with E. coli and peanuts processed with a touch of salmonella are the legacy of modern industrial agriculture.  But the tide is turning and consumers now have the choice to ask questions about where their food comes from and how it was produced.   Get to know your local farmer and find out what you are feeding yourself and your children.  When you look into your farmer’s eyes as he tells you that he grew his collards organically and his cattle are grass-fed, appreciate what that means.  The extra effort it took them to produce your next meal sustainably means you will be happier and healthier for it.  And it just might ensure that those small family farmers right here in North Florida will be feeding your children’s children too.  To learn more about how you can continue to support small family farms in our region, visit www.slowfoodfirstcoast.com.
 
Richard Villadóniga
www.eat-american.com
www.slowfoodfirstcoast.com

[urbanlibertarian]

I think the slow food movement deserves as much support as possible.  It's not easy, but I can't agree more with Mr. Villadoniga's quote.

I'm not a supporter of the slow food or organic food movements but those who wish to support them should not have the government standing in their way.  People are capable of deciding for themselves what to eat or drink.

[ben says]

I think the slow food movement deserves as much support as possible.  It's not easy, but I can't agree more with Mr. Villadoniga's quote.

I'm not a supporter of the slow food or organic food movements but those who wish to support them should not have the government standing in their way.  People are capable of deciding for themselves what to eat or drink.

Any chance you'd want to share your reason behind not supporting slow food or organic movements?

[urbanlibertarian]

I'm not against them.  It's just that the differences between slow or organic food and the mainstream stuff are not significant to me.  What is significant is adults having the freedom to ingest whatever they think is right for them.  It's fine for government to make suggestions and warnings but the decision to ingest or not should be made by the individual.

[thekillingwax]

http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2015/12/mast-brothers-chocolate-scandal?utm_source=nextdraft&utm_medium=email