Dear Dairy Farmers of Ontario,
How is organic milk kept separate from non-organic milk during processing and transportation?
Is the organic milk I purchase guaranteed to be 100% free of hormones, antibiotics and other additives?
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Hello Kristina,
Thank you for your e-mail. I've attached an information sheet about organic milk.
Organic milk is segregated from conventional milk both during transportation and processing. It is picked up separately from organic farms and transported to a processor who processes it on a separate line. You may want to take a look at the Organic Meadow website at www.organicmeadow.com for more information about these products.
All milk, whether organic or conventional, must meet stringent quality standards at each step from the farm to retail. A bulk tank milk grader takes samples of milk from the farmers’ bulk milk tank each time the milk is picked up. Samples are checked for quality and composition.
Dairy animals, like humans, sometimes become ill and require antibiotics. The milk from animals that are treated with antibiotics cannot be offered for sale until the prescribed withdrawal period has passed.
Strict guidelines also control quality in milk processing plants. Like dairy farms, the plants must conform to strict sanitation standards prescribed in either provincial or federal legislation or regulations. All milk must be pasteurized by Ontario dairy processing plants. All plants test all truckloads of milk they receive for antibiotics prior to processing.
In Canada, rbST (recombinant Bovine Somatotropin) is not approved for use. Health Canada announced in mid-January 1999 that it would not approve the sale of rbST in Canada.
I hope this information is of assistance.
Best regards,
Karen Mantel
Communications Officer
Dairy Farmers of Ontario
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