In some European countries, government officials turn up their noses — sniff! — at pasteurized cheese. In these parts, however, pasteurization (a heat-treating process used to kill harmful bacteria) is as American as Kraft Singles. In recent years, the P-word has sparked debate between health regulators and cheese artisans and connoisseurs, the latter arguing that unpasteurized cheese offers the highest-quality flavor and provides greater health benefits than cheese made from processed milk.
According to federal law, raw cheese can be sold as long as it is produced under sanitary conditions and aged at least 60 days. Lee Dexter, who makes and sells raw goat cheese at her all-natural White Egret Farm in far East Austin, says she follows the letter and spirit of federal and state law. But the Texas Dept. of Health (which licenses food companies) tells a different story.
On Nov. 8, the TDH issued an emergency order shutting down the cheese-making segment of White Egret Farm, citing a history of health and safety violations. State health officials also issued a release advising against eating goat cheese from the farm. A state administrative hearing on the order is scheduled for Dec. 12. Additionally, a lawsuit filed by the attorney general’s office against White Egret Farm on TDH’s behalf covers a broader range of allegations, including illegal retail sale of raw goat’s milk. A Nov. 5 trial date was postponed, and a new trial schedule is pending in State District Court. White Egret is seeking a jury trial.
Dexter and her attorney, Bill Malone Jr., say the TDH’s motive is clear: Health regulators in general have traditionally defended the belief that unpasteurized food products contain pathogenic bacteria. “They seem to think that pasteurization will end the sick and ill of mankind,” said Malone. “In their mind, pasteurization is all good and no bad.” A former biologist with the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service, Dexter asserts that TDH regulators are not sufficiently trained or experienced to conduct inspections of farms that operate on a strictly organic level (meaning no antibiotics, no pesticides, and no pasteurization).
Dexter’s 108-acre farm, at 15704 Webberville Road, also sells natural beef, pork, and turkey, but the company’s dairy segment — in this instance, cheese — has caused health inspectors the most heartburn, so to speak. In the recent emergency order, TDH listed several infractions dating back to October 2000, including: no license to manufacture cheese; flies, ants, and pill bugs in the cheese-production area; cheese wrapped in “old pillowcases”; an improperly protected water well; and even a dead goat near the production area. “We tried working with the firm to come into compliance,” said Julee Magness of TDH’s Manufactured Foods Division. “We don’t like to close a facility. We really try to do everything we can to keep it open and to protect the citizens of Texas.”
Dexter says her farm has been licensed through TDH’s Milk and Dairy Division since it opened in 1992. Only recently did she learn she needed a license under the Manufactured Foods Division, but when she applied for the license, the division rejected her application based upon health and safety violations. TDH officials say they have nothing against unpasteurized products — unless strict health and safety regulations are being ignored. But attorney Malone says, “No one’s ever gotten sick from eating White Egret Farm products, even though they allege they found one pathogen on three different occasions two years ago.”
Responding to some of the TDH allegations, Dexter and Malone contend that flies and other unwanted insects are no more of a problem at the farm than they are at any other food-manufacturing site. “It’s a farm,” said Malone. “It’s not a hospital. Flies are going to go in and out the door as inspectors go in and out.” As for the “old pillowcase,” Dexter says that cheese is “bandaged” in cotton cloth during the aging process; she calls it “standard cheese-making process.” On another occasion, inspectors happened to arrive on the same day that a goat died in its pen — a pen Dexter denies is “near” the production area, but at least 20 feet away. “Births and deaths happen on a farm all the time,” Dexter said.
TDH officials acknowledge they have no record of any food-borne illnesses tied to White Egret Farm products, and have received no written complaints from consumers, but remark that several consumers have made telephone inquiries about the safety of the farm’s raw milk products. Meanwhile, Dexter and other advocates argue that the health benefits of raw milk products, such as protecting the immune system and providing enzymes, outweigh those of pasteurized dairy products. The Cheese of Choice Coalition, formed by the American Cheese Society and other groups worldwide to fight tighter regulatory controls on cheese production, contends that pasteurization eliminates milk’s natural disease-resisting bacteria, making it more susceptible to pathogens.
While TDH and the AG’s office continue building its case for trial, Dexter and some of her loyal customers ponder another possible motive for the charges filed against White Egret Farm: development plans for Eastern Travis County, an area that local officials have designated a desired development zone. “I really think there’s some hanky-panky business going on,” said longtime customer Ed Molberg. “Somebody wants to run her out of business.” Molberg, one of several customers who called the Chronicle in Dexter’s defense, says he has contacted nearly every one of Dexter’s regular customers — the same list of customers contacted by the AG’s office — “and I can’t find anyone who has anything negative to say about White Egret Farm.”
This article appears in November 30 • 2001.
