To the delight of traditional and artisan cheesemakers throughout Brazil, a Brazilian law banning the sale of “raw milk” or unpasteurized cheese, unless it has been matured for at least 60 days, has been overturned. It’s a regulation that has been in place for more than 50 years.
The fact that unpasteurized cheese was illegal did not stop Brazilians from enjoying traditionally made products. For decades, cheesemakers have been smuggling the delicacy across the country for sale in specialty food shops.
“Raw milk” is a designation that is used to describe cheeses made from milk that have not been pasteurized – heated at more than 40 degrees Celsius or 100 degrees Fahrenheit. This artisanal cheese is loved because it retains hundreds of varieties of bacteria that give a deeper flavor. It also retains its vitamin, protein, and fat content.
The state of Minas Gerais was the first state to legalize the production and sale of unpasteurized cheeses in 2002. Because this state was the only place where the cheeses were legal, producers were still subject to the ban outside of Minas Gerais.
The United States and Canada Approach to Unpasteurized Cheese
Earlier this year, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) detained a shipment of mimolette cheese on route from France. Even though this unpasteurized cheese has been imported into the U.S. for decades, the U.S. has cracked down on the cheese that contains the very cheese mites that makes the cheese desirable.
Currently, both the U.S. and Canada require soft and semi-soft cheeses sold across their respective boarders to be aged for at least 60 days. And there is no sign that they will follow the legalization route that Brazil has taken. Just last year, the U.S. and Canadian governments issued a joint report reaffirming the illegality of unpasteurized cheese. As a result, cheesemakers are bracing themselves for a further crackdown on the tasty snack.
The American Cheese Society objects to the report, saying that it contains many inaccurate and misleading statements that are unsupported by evidence. They also point out that there have been only 725 reported illnesses resulting from raw milk cheese consumption in the entire world over a 25-year period.
Oddly, the one similarity with Brazil is that the singular province of Quebec in Canada has legalized unpasteurized cheese.
