Another good reason to say 'Cheese'

Bowing to years of plaintive requests from both cheese producers and sophisticated foodies, the Quebec government has finally introduced new rules that will permit the sale of raw-milk cheese, even if it has not first been aged for 60 days. It's about time.

BY THE GAZETTE (MONTREAL) AUGUST 2, 2008

Specialty and artisanal cheeses have increased in numbers in recent years, not only here but also across Canada and in the U.S. But Quebec now becomes the first jurisdiction in North America to allow the sale of fresh cheeses made from raw - that is, unpasteurized - milk.

Cheese-lovers say the taste of raw-milk cheese is unmistakable, a sensory pleasure that cannot be matched by cheese made with pasteurized milk, or even with "lait thermisé"- a process in which milk is heated, not to the full pasteurization temperature but part way to that level.

Critics of the new rules argue that the special taste of raw cheese can come with a high price - a heightened health risk so great that raw-milk cheese is potentially life-threatening.

And yet many of the world's favourite cheeses have been produced for hundreds of years with raw milk. The trick is to manage the risks carefully, and make sure potential consumers understand the situation.

Quebec seems to have taken health concerns into account. Under the new rules, Quebec will require each cheesemaker to know his or her milk supplier personally, and to be knowledgeable about the dairy operation in question. As well, milk suppliers for this specialty segment of the market will be subjected to much higher standards of cleanliness than those imposed even on France's raw-milk cheese producers.

Attention to quality is a natural selling point for niche food products, and serious enforcement of well-drafted regulations will reinforce that innate emphasis on safety. That's what the government has in mind. Quebec's raw-milk producers must keep a registry of technical information and send their cheeses every month to a lab for testing for dangerous bacteria such as E. coli or salmonella.

We trust this will mean that Quebec health inspectors will be combing through the registries with the same zeal. The province has a long history of cheerfully bringing in various public-spirited rules, regulations and legislation, and then doing nothing to ensure that these rules are adhered to.

In a world where critics deplore vast agri-business mass production, we should all welcome this government initiative which will encourage producers and consumers alike to seek out new frontiers in flavour.

Source:

http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/editorial/story.html?id=0ae042c0-306f-4f20-bc18-c0fbf32b409c