The Queen of Egypt would not have been amused

Monday, December 6, 2010

A co-op store in Maleny, Australia, might have been able to get away with selling unpasteurized Cleopatra's Bath Milk, produced on a local farm, as a cosmetic product if it hadn't been offered for sale in the same refrigerator as organic pasteurized milk, and at the same price, too. A Queensland Health officer bought the raw milk but not the bath product sales pitch – and neither did the judge. Maple Street Co-op, charged with misleading the public, was fined $2,500 in October.

According to the Sunshine Coast Daily, the co-op's general manager was relieved because a fine could have run to tens of thousands of dollars. A local health official was disappointed because the product contained bacteria that could have harmed consumers, at least those who drank it. Sale of unpasteurized milk is banned in Queensland under the state's Food Production Safety Act 2000. BF