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.
Thanks for this educational post! I have a genetic condition that is very health-challenging to manage, but discovering the benefits of raw dairy made a massive difference in my overall health picture. For about 2 years, making all my own stuff with goat and sheep milk from local farms…..but when I had to do less after some surgeries my progress stalled. I thought I was just losing the battle, but reflecting back, I think I was fooled by this marketing ploy. My improvements stopped when I wasn’t able to make all my products from scratch myself–I thought I was still getting raw dairy enzymes from these “raw products”, but the health progress dwindled away. The best test will be to go back to making my own stuff….I need some good raw sheep’s milk recipes….although I do enjoy my genuine french roquefort….no more “raw” cheddar from the store–at least, not with the expectation of enzyme benefits!
you say: “…. the milk is only warmed to 98F which is well within the limits for enzyme and nutrient preservation.” What are the temperature heating range limits for “truly raw”?
Milk is raw up to 117F. Beyond that, enzymes and probiotics begin to be destroyed.
Raw milk proponents! We must remember that it is not temperature which denatures enzymes or kills organisms; it is heat. This means that the temperature COMBINED with the amount of TIME the enzymes and bacteria are exposed to it is what denatures or kills them. The experimentation needed to truly master this knowledge must be very thorough. Flash high temperatures for several seconds do not instantly kill or denature necessarily. The enzymes and bacteria have their own temperature which meets the incoming temperature and will either slowly or quickly burn up depending on the GAP between the temperatures. A true science would tell us how much HEAT a certain entity can withstand before it is destroyed.
Finally, someone who’s making sense. Out of all these remarks, I don’t see one that mentions the shelf life of a truly raw cheese and that it in fact tastes as delicious as a top sharp aged cheddar or top quality goat cheese which has been sub-pasteurized or flash pasteurized to retain its beneficial nutrients.
While I’m all for health and raw when it can be obtained and retained in a safe condition to consume, if the truly raw nature of the product causes it to immediately spoil and have mold spores, will you just discard it and blame yourself for not consuming it quickly enough or will you contact the company or store and blame them that your cheese has spoiled right away? I choose foods for both health and taste. If the food doesn’t taste great or taste how I’m expecting it to taste or better, that will be a problem. I imagine that for the average consumer who is purchasing a product, if it spoils quickly or the taste is inferior, they will blame the company or store and expect a refund or replacement product. This would produce a conflict if the company seeks to stand by its customer and customer service, offering a superior product and yet making a profit so that the company can sustain itself.
The aging process of 6 months with the flash sub-pasteurization of OV seems like a happy medium which allows the cheese to remain fresh for a reasonable period of time to allow for reasonable turnover. If the company or the consumer must discard cheese because it hasn’t been consumed and spoils too quickly, then there seems an inherent responsibility to do what’s needed so that the food doesn’t spoil before its consumed. I personally don’t consume food because it’s about to spoil, I consume food because I’m hungry. This means I want my foods to be fresh when purchased and have a reasonable shelf life so that they don’t spoil before they’re consumed.
I’m health-conscious, but I’m not a fanatic. I go out to eat and I prepare my own foods. I believe that to fully enjoy life there should be balance.
A happy medium? Why do they out and out LIE then calling it raw? Fooling the consumer is apparently job #1.
Why are people on here saying that they have to settle for subpar cheese? Why do people need to eat cheese? I understand its delicious and necasary for many dishes but lots of people go years without cheese. No one needs cheese.
What the hell did sweet, creamy, delicious cheese do to you? You sir are out of line. No cheese? Why not no air, water, or freedom either.
if we make pizza with raw cheese does that defeat the purpose of having it raw? I would guess it would because then we’d be heating it way past 161 degrees.
I have been calling all of the companies that sell goat or sheep milk cheese that is labeled as “raw” and I have not yet found a single company that makes truly raw cheese. All of them heat their milk to between 133 and 158 prior to adding the bacterial culture. The only truly raw cow’s milk cheese I know of is the one made by Organic Pastures out of Fresno, which I plan to order and try. But I really want a truly raw cheese made from either goat’s or sheep’s milk. If anyone has any resources to offer, I would be most appreciative. Great article and discussion!
drakefamilyfarms.com in Ontario California sells a raw goats milk feta cheese.
vermontshepherd.com in Putney Vermont sell a raw sheep’s milk cheese called “Verano” that is not heated above 101 degrees Fahrenheit.
bonnieview.org in Craftsbury Vermont sells 4 kinds of raw sheep’s milk cheese not heated above 101 degrees Fahrenheit. All 4 are not always available, but their Coomersdale is.
And remember that all true Roquefort sheep’s milk cheese in not heated above 93.2 degrees Fahrenheit.
thanks for the great sources bro!
so, I have been buying from Bunker Hill for years for our coop….wow…tell me if you read this the way I do…I’m not 100% sure what they mean by gentle.
I emailed Bunker Hill in Millersburg Ohio to ask what temperature they heat their “raw” milk Heini’s cheese to and got a reply of 145 degrees Fahrenheit.
145F is low temp pasteurization … definitely NOT raw!
I tried contacting Tree of Life years ago and they never returned my call. They were hard to find in the first place, as if they don’t want anyone to find them.
You just plain out cannot trust a big company. I know some people will want to give me examples of reputable big companies. While some might be upfront now, I believe they all will eventually cut and cheat where they can. The big companies serve the masses. The masses don’t mind eating crap.
Regarding AMISH FARMERS: Just b/c it comes from an Amish farm doesn’t mean that you can’t trust that every ingredient is natural or w/o chemicals. For instance, one Amish farmer I from which I used to order cheese told me they use animal rennet from DuPont. Yes, they sell rennet apparently. Anyway, you can’t be 100% all the time, but always question.
I have been fooled.. thank you so much for this wonderful info! Support small local farmers! 🙂
Peace,Love,Truth