WRITTEN QUESTION E-0824/01

by Michl Ebner (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(19 March 2001)

Subject: Treatment of raw milk

In view of the forthcoming comprehensive overhaul of food hygiene regulations and the aim to allow treatment of raw milk by milk producers (for example by microfiltration), would the Commission answer the following questions:

- Are there reliable methods for detecting by means of analysis the use of microfilters to remove cells from raw milk, altering the cell count?

- At a time when so many food scandals have been occurring, is there not a risk that the sense of uncertainty felt by consumers may be further added to if the guarantee of the purity of this raw product is undermined by making microfiltration treatment legal?

Joint answer to Written Questions E-0823/01 and E-0824/01 given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(27 June 2001)

Microfiltration is a technological process which allows biochemical or organic milk components to be selected according to size by using membranes with varying degrees of permeability. For optimum effect, microfiltration usually involves a rise in temperature to above 40 °C, which no longer complies with the definition of raw milk. It is also difficult to carry out on the farm.

The draft text on the simplification of veterinary legislation, as mentioned by the Honourable Member, proposes the following definition of raw milk: milk which has not been heated beyond 40 °C; treatments such as homogenisation and standardisation which have an effect on the quality of the milk may be carried out.

This definition does not mean that microfiltration can be used to modify lactic flora or distort the assessment of its initial quality. Moreover, the draft regulation makes it compulsory to use guides to good practice in primary production, which are designed to help producers manage risks at this crucial stage for safety and quality.

It is true that there are no direct methods to reveal the use of microfiltration of milk, as there are for pasteurisation and sterilisation. However, if a producer uses this technology, he will have to justify it when the relevant authority carries out its checks. For example, he will have to provide data on hygiene control on his farm, health monitoring of his herd, and the results of microbiological analyses of the milk before it is collected. These results will have to be within the limits proposed by Community legislation, in terms of both standards and microbiological criteria, until standards are laid down by more specific legislation on the quality of milk and dairy products. The Commission has been informed of discussions begun in some Member States between dairy industry representatives and

producers with a view to proposing that the representatives of these Member States in the Council amend the definition of raw milk as it stands in their current draft. Their aim is to provide the consumer with full information on the treatments used in milk.

This approach could include a proposal to use labelling similar to that used for milk which has undergone heat treatment, such as the pasteurised milk classification which is today easily identifiable and understood by the consumer.