User:Stefanzi/sandbox

Australia
The sale of raw milk for drinking purposes is illegal in all states and territories in Australia, as is all raw milk cheese. This has been circumvented somewhat by selling raw milk as bath milk. An exception to the cheese rule has been made recently for two Roquefort cheeses. There is some indication of share owning cows, allowing the "owners" to consume the raw milk, but also evidence that the government is trying to close this loophole.

After a 3 year old died of haemolytic uraemic syndrome in early December 2014 and shortly after 4 other children became seriously ill the Victorian Chief Health Officer Dr Rosemary Lester recommended cosmetic or bath milk be sold away from regular milk and suggested that the labelling be changed, however she stopped short of saying the product should be banned, saying it was "too early to say what the solution should be" Dr Lester said that as the milk was not sold as food it was a consumer labelling issue, not a food safety issue, she had referred the matter to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and Consumer Affairs Victoria, the latter saying they were working with the ACCC to see if any labelling laws had been breached.

The Age interviewed the proprietor of health food store that sold the same milk linked to the death of the toddler. The shop owner said "most if not all" people buy the milk for consumption and "[n]o one's admitted to [bathing in] it. Everyone has a bit of a laugh about that", though he said that they always explain the risks to customers however "when we start explaining to regular customers that it's not to be taken they start rolling their eyes at us". He added that he sells more than 200 litres of unpasteurised milk per week.

The President of the Victorian branch of the Australian Medical Association, Dr Tony Bartone, said he could see no reason why the product should be sold at all, saying that people were consuming "unpasteurised milk for cosmetic or body-building purposes" adding that "It's probably increasing in frequency, but still thankfully not an across the board phenomenon".