Officials concerned about dangers of "bathtub cheese"

Posted Thu, Jul 15, 2004 at 8:41 pm

From the San Diego Union-Tribune:

Health officials warned residents Thursday not to buy cheese and raw milk products sold on the streets and neighborhoods of San Diego County because they could contain harmful bacteria.

The illegal products, sometimes called "bathtub cheese," pose a health threat to consumers because unlicensed manufacturers use raw, unpasteurized milk that can promote bacteria growth, county health officials said.

"We have found these illegal cheeses being sold from the back of cars or trucks, at swap meets and from door-to-door salespeople," said Gary Erbeck, director of the County Environmental Health Department...

This is not a joke.

This is not the first time cheese inspectors have hit the streets. See July 5, 2002's "State cracks down on illegal cheese".

And, it gets even weirder. Public relations agency Fleishman Hillard produced a campaign for the California Milk Advisory Board entitled "The Cheese Is Good When The Cheese is Safe". Fleishman Hillard is involved in some local billing scandal or other. And, their campaign featured Edward James Olmos, who hugged me once (in a macho, manly way).

And, as can be expected, the libertarian loonies downplay the dangers of bathtub cheese.

Comments

Yna (not verified)

Wed, 10/27/2004 - 09:48

It's all about alarming the public isn't it...
It should be more about informing and letting people decide... actually raw milk may have more benefits than pasturized... This country sounds a like a communist country sometimes. What's up with the organic industry? now everything has to be government approved... I don't even trust organic food since they started controlling that.

Chris (not verified)

Fri, 07/16/2004 - 07:37

As a serious Foodie:
For what it is worth, there is a long tradition of using unpasturized milk in cheeses. They are still available commercially in Europe, and a lot of cheese "experts" claim that using pasturized milk eliminates a certain depth of flavor. Considering how much more flavor a good piece of Maytag has over a mass-marketed chunk of "cheddar", I suspect that they are on to something with that comment.
As a wing-nut libertarian:
If I buy cheese from someone on the street, or who comes to my door, I undertand and accept that risk. Its just another commodity on the market to accept or reject.
And I'm not sure that I would take what the California Milk Advisory board says as trustworthy. They are supposed to support the "legit" California milk producers from any sort of competition. If this cheese was as risky as they claim, shouldn't they let people buy it and compare it to the "safe" chesse that everyone else sells?

Barking Dog (not verified)

Fri, 07/16/2004 - 07:30

I would also worry about cheese sold in small shops. I've know of people who sell avocados to small merchants, that they got from a farm ... Even resturants.