Cheese regs could kill home businesses

I attended a question-and-answer session Tuesday hosted by Dr. Jay Fuller of the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation Food Safety and Sanitation Program here in Delta Junction. The session covered recent amendments to cheese-making regulations.

These amendments, in short, were issued in response to a request by the state Legislature for exemptions that would reduce some of the costlier requirements for small producers — those individuals with one or two animals who want to sell cheese out of their kitchens. There were a number of positive changes made to the legislation. The most meaningful to small producers are allowances for use of well water instead of municipal water, provided that it is tested quarterly for fecal coliform. Secondly, there was a slight relaxation of the requirement to have separate rooms for each phase of cheese production. Instead of rooms, the rules now require producers have dedicated “areas” for receiving milk, pasteurization and cooling, bacteriological and chemical analysis, storage and aging, mechanical equipment and bathrooms.

During the session, I asked Dr. Fuller if a home kitchen could ever be used. He said no. Among a list of other reasons, the state has concerns over unpasteurized milk contaminating pasteurized milk. These two activities cannot be in the same room, even if separated by time (for example, milk is received in the morning, pasteurized, chilled and then processed in the evening). He also explained that it was unclear if grades of milk other than Grade A could be used. Meeting Grade-A standards is extremely expensive, requiring sanitary milking parlors that essentially pass the white-glove test. At best, a small producer would have to add rooms and a separate kitchen onto his or her house to isolate each of these production steps. At worst, a small producer would probably have to construct an entirely new building at a cost of $250,000 to $300,000.

I went on to ask if a DEC-inspected restaurant kitchen could be used. He said yes, provided no other food was being prepared in that kitchen while cheese was being made. Because cheese can take 24 to 48 hours to make in many cases, this effectively means that even professionally trained chefs who want to make cheeses from supermarket milk cannot do so. Because cheese is typically made daily, cooperative kitchens — touted by DEC as one way for a homemaker to safely bake bread or make jam for sale — would also be impractical.

Interestingly, the rules allow individuals to make raw-milk cheese. Because the steps to confirm proper pasteurization are quite cumbersome and costly, it would make financial sense for producers to skip pasteurizing their milk altogether. Sadly, DEC admits that, on a national level, the number of cases of food poisoning from cheese made from pasteurized milk is extremely small while those of cheese made from unpasteurized milk is relatively high. My suggestion that small producers be given exemptions only if milk is pasteurized was deemed impossible to implement.

Dr. Fuller repeatedly insisted that his office’s hands were tied and that they had to issue regulations commensurate with other states in accordance with the Alaska Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. At the same time, when asked if the state was out of compliance with this act prior to issuance of these cheese regulations, Dr. Fuller said no. Regulations pertaining to dairy production prior to issuance of this regulation had been sufficient. He further stated DEC wanted to issue cheese regulations in order to clarify what were confusing rules and allow individuals to make better-informed business decisions.

I suspect the primary reason for these rules is pressure from USDA. Failure to implement rules as the federal regulators see fit could result in loss of grants for DEC’s food-inspection program.

Sadly, the effect of these regulations will not be further protection of public health. Currently, there are loopholes in state and federal laws that allow individuals to buy “shares” in cows from farmers and then pay to have the animal milked, providing them raw milk for free. Other farmers have freely given their products away, accepting “donations” at their farmer’s market booth. Similarly, raw milk and cheese can be labeled and sold as “pet food.”

In these cases, DEC has absolutely no inspection authority. Small producers will be forced to use these loopholes. The producers who want to do the right thing (have their dairy and kitchens inspected and their products sampled for dangerous bacteria) will no longer be able to rely upon DEC’s expertise and laboratories. Consumers who want to buy local cheese made by their neighbors might instead buy “dog food” that has had no DEC inspection at all.

Fifteen states now allow farmers to sell raw milk directly to consumers on the farm. There is a precedent nationally to allow for direct-to-consumer sales of uninspected dairy products. Why, then, can DEC not issue relaxed rules allowing for direct-to-consumer sales of inspected dairy products?

The state Legislature may have to intervene and amend the Alaska Food and Drug Act to allow exemptions for small producers. U.S. Sens. Murkowski and Begich as well as Rep. Young are also well-advised to look at this issue on a national level in the next Farm Bill.

For those who think this issue is just about cheese, think again. Strict food-safety rules mean that no foods made in home kitchens can be sold in this state. Mrs. Fields could not have started her cookie business in Alaska. A Slavic lady here in Delta used to sell bread made in her home kitchen, but was shut down and is now out of business. A friend asked her about it and she responded that it was easier for her to do business in Russia than here. If we truly want to promote local food and small businesses, isn’t it time we change this?

Michael S. Nuckols is a Delta Junction resident.