Six lobbyists who appear to represent a coalition of agriculture and public health entities in Iowa filed Monday as opponents of Senate File 287, which would allow unpasteurized raw milk to be sold to “a final consumer.”
Sen. Mark Chelgren, R-Ottumwa, dropped SF 287 into the hopper of Iowa’s 87th General Assembly Monday, but before it was assigned to committee the opponents were registering against it.
Organizations signed up in opposition of SF2 87 include: Iowa Department of Agriculture; Iowa Dairy Foods Association; Iowa Public Health Association, and three lobbyists from the Iowa Medical Society.
“The Iowa Public Health Association joins the Iowa Department of Public Health, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in supporting evidence-based public policy that protects the health of Iowans through the pasteurization of milk,” according to the public health association’s website.
“Pasteurization is the process of heating milk to a high enough temperature for a long enough time to kill any disease-causing bacteria contained in the milk. Numerous dietary studies show that the nutritional effects of pasteurization are minimal while the health risks posed by consuming raw milk are real. Raw milk and its products provide an ideal environment in which bacteria can grow.”
Read more at:
http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2017/02/final-consumer-could-purchase-raw-milk-under-iowa-bill/
