The row over the selling of raw milk at Selfridges Food Hall in London two years ago could end in a change of rules when the Food Standards Agency publish its report on the future of Raw Milk Regulation in July.
The FSA staged a rare event in London when it issued an open invitation for anyone involved in or interested in raw milk to come and give evidence.
The man at the centre of the whole row is Horsham, East Sussex farmer Stephen Hook, who became famous worldwide after a documentary was made about him Moo Man, which became a hit in Hollywood.
Hook appeared at the FSA hearing joking that the last time they had spoken was in Westminster Magistrates court, when the FSA dropped charges against him and Selfridges and ordered a full report.
He pointed out that his own local Environmental Health officer was in the audience, adding: “We’ve all been on good training courses. We take an hour to milk 30 cows. Thank God I’ve had positive help from my local civil servants.”.
Then Hook moved onto the subject of vending machines, which caused the controversy in the first place. He said: “ It’s a great way to sell milk. In Italy there are 1,400 machines. If they could put vending machines in village shops, there would be an increase on footfall. It would help local farmers”.
“(Vending machines) are a great way to sell milk. In Italy there are 1,400 machines. If they could put vending machines in village shops, there would be an increase on footfall. It would help local farmers”
“ Why not let it (vending machines) happen. The customer is king, and the customer should have choice. Are we in the forefront or are we lagging behind? I’d love to think we’re at the forefront.”
There were audible murmurs from the audience when Luisa Candida, nutrition and technical manager at Dairy UK, which purports to be the voice of the British dairy industry, said: “Raw milk does represent a high risk to human health. We believe totally in pasteurisation”.
It was a view shared by another speaker Prof Sarah O’ Brian from the Advisory Committee on Microbiological Safety of Food. She said pasteurisation represented “a critical control for human consumption”
Raw milk consumers were represented by retired engineer Peter Campbell-McBride, who is married to a doctor and has two sons, and has drunk raw milk for over ten years. To loud applause he toldthe hearing : “ The farmers in this country producing raw milk are some of the most responsible people you will ever meet”. He drank the product before and after his presentation.
Report by Michael Wale
Picture: Stephen Hook, the ‘Moo Man‘
