Raw milk measure buried in Massachusetts legislation

Tucked into a rambling bill “promoting agriculture in the Commonwealth” of Massachusetts that includes provisions on joy-riding all-terrain vehicle operators, rain sensors on residential landscape sprinkler systems, and sundry sections on land assessments, re-valuation and taxation, is language to legalize the sale of unpasteurized raw milk. The Massachusetts bill, SD 1796, includes more than 7,300 words — 780 of them pertain to efforts to legalize on-farm raw milk sales direct to consumers as well as sales through herd- or animal-share programs for dairy cows and goats. The Massachusetts bill does not specifically address pathogen testing or other food safety requirements for raw milk, instead stating: “The department of agricultural resources and the department of public health, acting jointly, shall adopt and promulgate reasonable rules and regulations governing the handling, packaging, storage, testing, and transportation of raw milk, provided that non-mechanical refrigeration shall be permitted.”