DES MOINES, Iowa — When you head to the grocery store, you know that the milk you're buying is going to be safe for consumption, thanks to the pasteurization process – but consumers may soon have a non-pasteurized version to legally drink in Iowa.
That's because Iowa's Republican lawmakers are in the process of allowing the production and sale of raw milk. The bill is currently headed to a senate subcommittee, after the Iowa House passed an amended version of the original senate bill Wednesday night.
"As the only certified raw milk dairy in the state, we know how we handle it," said Diana Smith, owner of Simple Life Farms. "I'm comfortable with our milk, but I would not drink anybody else's. Unless, I visited the facility, saw how they did it, saw their animals, where they're kept."
Smith's biggest concern with the bill allowing for the sale of raw milk is the lack of regulations surrounding it's production.
"We're tested every single month to test for bacteria, or the somatic cell count of our goats to make sure that they're healthy, producing a healthy product," Smith said. "And if that doesn't happen, there's no guarantee that that's healthy milk."
It wasn't until yesterday's house amendment that stronger regulations were placed on the possible production and sale of raw milk.
The amendment puts the regulation of raw milk more in line with milk you can buy now on grocery store shelves.
House Republican Bobby Kaufmann introduced the bill in an attempt to address the concerns of others, although he stated on the floor it preferred the bill in it's original form.
"[The amendment] requires that raw milk producers maintain records on bacteria tests and antibiotics [and] prohibits producers form processing or distributing raw milk that exceeds the recommended bacteria count limit," Kaufmann said.
Still, more than ten groups oppose the law, including the Iowa Farm Bureau, the Iowa Veterinary Medical Association and the Iowa State Dairy Association among them.
"Our opposition to raw milk and raw milk products is based on our concerns with public health safety as one of our Veterinary Oath requirements, and included in the IVMA mission statement, is to protect public health," said Randy Wheeler, executive director of the Iowa Veterinary Medical Association, in a statement to Local 5.
The Iowa State Dairy Association also provided a statement in opposition to the bill, saying in part:
"This bill does not require raw milk producers to follow same safety standards that licensed and inspected dairy farms follow. lack of inspection, testing and storage guidelines significantly increases the risks for serious illness or even death. "
It's now up to the Iowa Senate to approve the amended version of what the house passed.
If the bill does pass, Simple Life Farms says they will consider selling raw milk.