Cheeses made from raw milk are regarded as the best in the world.  When international food lovers and dignitaries come to Australia they are served Australia’s best wines, but very often accompanied by imported raw milk cheeses. This happened to Carlo Petrini, the founder of Slow Food when he recently visited Australia.  ”Where are your raw cheeses!”, he exclaimed.

ARE THE REST OF THE WORLD’S PEOPLE ENJOYING RAW MILK CHEESES?

Yes most are, and have done so for centuries, some for millennia.  France, Italy, the UK and most of Europe have the right to enjoy raw milk cheeses.  Half the states in the USA are enjoying raw milk cheese and more are joining in, as are Canada and New Zealand.

IF THE REST OF THE WORLD ARE ENJOYING RAW MILK CHEESES? WHY NOT AUSTRALIA?

Good question.  The making of raw milk cheese is being prevented in Australia by archaic regulations developed before quality assurance programs were available that could deliver low risk outcomes.  The work has moved on, but Australia is stuck in the past.  As a result Australians are being denied their right to enjoy the very best of cheese, and our cheese-makers are being denied their right to produce them.

WHAT MAKES RAW MILK CHEESE SPECIAL?

Taste and variety! Artisan cheeses made from raw milk exhibit flavours and diversity not found in an industrial product.  Raw milk cheeses deliver taste in abundance.

SO ARE RAW MILK CHEESE SAFE TO EAT? AND CAN THEY BE SAFE IN AUSTRALIA?

Any food involving the use of bacteria to make it involves a small level of risk - and that includes both raw and pasteurised milk cheeses.  However, the dairy industry worldwide is one of the safest, including in those countries that enjoy raw milk and raw milk cheeses. All that is required is that Australian cheese meet international benchmark levels of acceptable risk no matter how or what milk cheese are made of.

WHAT ABOUT EXPORT POTENTIAL FOR AUSTRALIAN RAW MILK CHEESE?

50 years ago Australia did not have a wine culture and exported very little wine.  Today Australia is recognised as the world’s best wine producing and export nation*. Unfortunately regulations prevent Australian cheese-makers from producing unique raw milk cheeses, so our export potential for raw milk cheeses is currently zero.  If realistic regulations were in place, Australia would become a leading quality cheese exporting nation.

DO REGULATIONS PREVENT INNOVATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF AUSTRALIAN CHEESES?

Absolutely.  Currently Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) are telling our cheese-makers how to make cheeses via prescriptive regulations.  The last thing an artisan cheese-maker needs to be told by bureaucrats is how to produce cheeses.  Prescriptive regulation prevents experimentation, artistry and innovation by our cheese-makers, and stops the development of Australian world-class cheese.

SO WHAT SHOULD AUSTRALIAN REGULATORS DO TO HELP FOSTER OUR CHEESE INDUSTRY?

Set standards that enable our cheese-makers to compete on the world stage with internationally recognised benchmarks for safety.  Then get out of the way and let Australian cheese-makers develop exquisite quality cheeses that meet the standards by whatever method they choose or develop.

DO OUR REGULATORS THINK THAT AUSTRALIAN CHEESE-MAKERS AREN’T GOOD ENOUGH TO MAKE RAW MILK CHEESE?

That is the inescapable and insulting conclusion drawn from the law as it now stands, when we can eat imported raw milk cheese, but not those made by our own cheese-makers. This is far from the case.  Indeed, using pasteurised milk, Australia makes some of the world’s finest cheeses.

WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP AUSTRALIAN CHEESE-MAKERS AND LOVER OF GOOD CHEESES?

Sign the Slow Food petition and get all your friends and family to do so as well.  Download copies of the petition and give these to all people who enjoy good food and want to support our local producers and farmers.