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Revised Food Safety Rules Could Legalize Raw Milk Shares

Irina Zhorov

Revisions to the Wyoming Department of Agriculture’s proposed food safety rules could make it easier to obtain raw milk. Raw milk is unprocessed, unpasteurized milk. The originally proposed food safety rules said that raw milk could only be used by the sole owners of a milk cow and their families or guests.

Manager of Consumer Health Services, Dean Finkenbinder, says the word ‘sole’ was removed after about 130 people spoke out at public meetings and a public hearing.  

“By removing the word ‘solely’ that opens it up to where individuals could purchase a share in a milk animal,” Finkenbinder said. 

A share is acquired by buying into a herd in order to receive a percentage of the animals’ milk. Selling raw milk to non-share holders remains illegal. Finkenbinder expects the rules to arrive in the governor’s office for final approval by the end of the month.

Irina Zhorov is a reporter for Wyoming Public Radio. She earned her BA from the University of Pennsylvania and an MFA from the University of Wyoming. In between, she worked as a photographer and writer for Philadelphia-area and national publications. Her professional interests revolve around environmental and energy reporting and she's reported on mining issues from Wyoming, Mexico, and Bolivia. She's been supported by the Dick and Lynn Cheney Grant for International Study, the Eleanor K. Kambouris Grant, and the Social Justice Research Center Research Grant for her work on Bolivian mining and Uzbek alpinism. Her work has appeared on Voice of America, National Native News, and in Indian Country Today, among other publications.
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