Forks Township farmer Layne Klein swears by the health benefits of raw milk.
The calcium and vitamins are more prevalent than in store milk, he said. Raw milk is easier for some people to digest. Plus, it tastes better, he said.
Raw milk isn't without its risks, though. Five people were infected with Campylobacter bacteria after drinking raw milk produced by the Family Cow in Chambersburg, Pa., the Pennsylvania Departments of Health and Agriculture said in a joint statement. The Family Cow sells its products on-site and throughout the state, including in the Lehigh Valley, according to the statement.
Forks Township's Klein Farms Dairy & Creamery takes all the necessary steps to ensure its milk is safe to drink, and customers can take a look at the cows when they visit, Klein said. It sells only raw milk, which is healthy when it's produced correctly and safely, Klein said.
“We have nothing to hide,” Klein said. “We drink it ourselves, so we make sure it’s perfectly clean.”
Making sure the milk is safe begins with good udder health, and making sure cows have a clean place to lie down. Before the cows are hooked up to a milking machine, their teats are dipped with an iodine solution and wiped off, Klein said. The teats are again dipped with iodine after milking to seal them.
All the equipment is washed thoroughly and sanitized after every milking, Klein said. The milk goes into a closed pipeline system and is filtered to make sure it’s clean.
Pennsylvania requires farms that sell raw milk to be permitted and inspected by the state Department of Agriculture to cut down on the health risks associated with unpasteurized products, department spokeswoman Samantha Elliott Krepps said.
The state Department of Health recommends pregnant women, children younger than 5 and people with compromised immune systems avoid drinking raw milk, spokeswoman Holli Senior said. The five confirmed cases of bacterial infections from the Family Cow's milk are in the southern part of the state, and an investigation of potential additional cases is ongoing, Senior said.
The sale of raw milk is illegal in New Jersey, but state Assemblyman John DiMaio is working to change that. In 2011, the Assembly passed a DiMaio-sponsored bill to allow New Jersey farmers to sell raw milk. The bill didn't make it out of committee in the Senate.
DiMaio, a Republican whose 23rd District includes parts of Warren and Hunterdon counties, said a similar bill in the current session made it out of the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee but has yet to be posted in the full Assembly. State Sen. Michael Doherty, also a 23rd District Republican, sponsored a companion bill in the Senate, where it is still in committee.
DiMaio said the bacteria outbreak may change the trend of support for his bill, but the bill contains a lot of fail-safes to protect consumers. He said he’s sure people are buying raw milk in New Jersey, even though it’s illegal.
“This would codify rules and make it legal, yet monitored, in New Jersey,” DiMaio said Thursday.
Some New Jersey farmers are missing out on the raw milk market, because it’s legal to purchase in neighboring states, DiMaio said.
Klein said between one-third and one-half of his customer base is from New Jersey. People’s awareness about their food supply was in its infancy when Klein Farm began selling raw milk 10 years ago, he said, and he expects the interest in raw milk to keep growing.
“We just keep getting busier and busier,” he said.