We are pleased to announce that SB 201 — the "Fresh Milk Act of 2008" — was introduced on Friday, June 6, 2008. This is an exciting time for raw milk consumers in California as we also invite your participation in the new raw dairy consumer group, CREMA: California Real Milk Association. 

CREMA was born out of the positive consumer turnout legislators observed at the Assembly and Senate Committee hearings in January and April. These are the voices that the legislators want to hear. That means your voice!

We are beginning the process of forming a non-profit organization and are in the infant stages of establishing websites, letterheads, email networks, etc.  We will be able to raise funds through Weston A. Price Foundation and will begin doing so soon in order to cover startup costs. This, along with our work with SB 201, will be taking up a lot of time so we ask for your patience. 

Your support will be crucial!

The Assembly Agriculture Committee hearing on SB 201 is scheduled for mid to end of June. Your attendance and support is crucial.  Because SB 201 will be designated an urgency bill, it will go into effect immediately after being signed by the Governor. The challenge of an urgency bill, however, is that we need a 2/3 majority, rather than a simple majority, for the bill to pass. This is why your support is crucial! 

As we get more information, we will continue to forward it to you. Once CREMA is online, we will post everything here for easy access. 

We can do this!  Let's get behind this with everything we've got!

SB201: Fresh Milk Act of 2008 - The Details

Senator Dean Florez said it best when he held hearings on Farm Fresh Milk in April of this year. He said we want "World Class Raw Milk for California." SB 201, sponsored by Senator Florez, Senator Perata and Assemblymember Berryhill accomplishes just that.

SB 201 starts its abbreviated journey through the legislative process this week. With six hours of Senate hearings and testimony from experts from around the world, the Senate record on raw milk is strong.  Because of the tremendous amount of work by Senator Dean Florez, Senator Don Perata, Assemblyman Mike Villines, Assemblywoman Nicole Parra, Assemblyman Tom Berryhill, Whole Foods President Walter Robb, Sally Fallon, Dr. Ron Hull, Dr. Ted Beals and many others, this world class Raw Milk bill has gathered broad political support. 

SB 201 pioneers standards and regulatory protections that are the first in the nation, are holistic in addressing every critical process in the dairy, and provide greater protections for consumers than the standards currently in law.  It promotes consumer choice in California by keeping raw milk available on store shelves, while at the same time increasing food safety protections to ensure that the raw milk sold in California is the safest in the nation. 

For the first time in the United States, SB 201 mandates a HACCP (food safety) plan at California's raw milk dairies.  This type of individualized food safety plan is presently utilized by food processors in other industries in California, and was deemed to be the best alternative to promote raw milk food safety by scientists at our recent hearing.

SB 201 provides for at least eight times more testing for E. Coli 0157:H7, standard plate count, and coliforms as each raw milk dairy is required to provide an independent  lab product samples at least twice per week.  There is presently no such requirement in California law.  In the past, CDFA has performed simple tests that were used as indicators that harmful pathogens may be present.  SB 201 instead requires the CDFA to test directly for the pathogens that cause illness in humans at least once per month.  CDFA may take raw milk samples from any location deemed appropriate.  Testing directly for pathogens provides a more accurate picture of what is contained in the final product.

Finally, this bill prohibits raw milk dairies from receiving milk from other dairies that do not meet these stringent requirements.

These innovative food safety measures, when taken in their entirety, provide multiple layers of protection to our consumers, ensuring that California continues to be the leader in raw milk food safety.