Raw milk available in British store

Monday, February 20, 2012

Until mid-December, Brits who wanted unpasteurized milk could only get it directly from a farmers' market or over the Internet. Then department store Selfridges became the first retailer to offer it from its premises. 

The Food Standards Agency said the sale contravened food hygiene regulations. But Selfridges argues that the dispensing machine in its store is really owned by Longley's Farm in Hailsham, East Sussex. Such dispensers are used across Continental Europe. Unpasteurized milk sells for £3.50 a litre or £2 a half litre. Longley's Farm delivers the milk daily in a sealed, stainless steel tank.

The local Westminster City Council deals with day-to-day enforcement of such rules and the store said it had an agreement with the council that sales could continue. Meanwhile, the Food Standards Agency says talks were "ongoing." BF