Raw milk has been banned from several Sydney health food stores in a NSW Government blitz on the potentially dangerous product.
Approximately 68 litres of unpasteurised dairy products were seized from shelves in the Sydney area alone, with the NSW Food Authority promising to continue random checks of retailers will continue.
“While there are no food businesses in NSW licensed by the NSW Food Authority to produce raw milk for cosmetic purposes, we know that some retailing businesses are sourcing this product from elsewhere to sell it,” Minister for Primary Industries Niall Blair said in a statement.
“Raw milk is a high food safety risk – the sale of raw milk for human consumption is illegal in Australia and this kind of farcical deception won’t be tolerated. It was apparent to the NSW Food Authority that the sale of raw milk products at these premises was not for cosmetic reasons.
“The NSW Food Authority will continue to address retail businesses selling raw milk as bath milk and the NSW Government is committed to working with other states in an effort to find a national solution to the broader issue of the sale of raw milk.”
Raw milk -- typically marketed for sale as 'bath' or 'cosmetic' milk -- can contain dangerous bacteria such as E.coli, salmonella and listeria which can cause illness or, in some cases, prove fatal.
"The government actions are legitimate and, in my opinion, have arisen from legitimate concerns about the potential for someone to come badly unstuck," University of Sydney School of Public Health research fellow Dr Christopher Degeling told The Huffington Post Australia.
"It's all very well for people to assert their right to want to purchase these products and assume the risk themselves, but it doesn’t protect people who aren’t aware of those risks and who are purchasing these products as a cosmetic source and using it for human consumption.
"These types of public health measures are usually for a reason, and while it may feel like they are constraining the liberties of a few, they are usually providing lots and lots of benefits promoting health and preventing death or injury in other people."