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Raw milk could be sold next to its pasteurized sibling at Utah dairy farms if a proposal moving through the Utah Legislature is approved.

Currently, the side-by-side sales of raw and pasteurized milk are forbidden on Utah dairy farms and when the idea was proposed last year, it caused angst among farmers, dairymen and officials of the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food (UDAF)

"Under the current law, producers can choose to sell pasteurized milk or raw milk [at their on-site retail stores] but not both," bill sponsor Rep. Jacob Anderegg, R-Lehi, said Thursday.

Industry leaders have demanded the separation, afraid that consumers might buy raw milk accidentally, handle it improperly and become ill, giving a black eye to the entire milk industry.

Over the past year, Anderegg has worked with those groups to create a policy that satisfies the concerns.

His proposed amendment would require signs be placed prominently above raw milk display cases. The lettering must be easy to read — at least ½ inch in bold type — and include the words: "This milk is raw and unpasteurized. Please keep refrigerated."

UDAF also will create a "specific colored label" to further separate the raw milk, Anderegg said.

The proposal only would affect the 10-12 raw milk producers in Utah who also operate retail stores on the same property where the raw milk is produced, Anderegg said.

"This doesn't open it up to retail sales," he told a Senate committee. The bill had no opposition and was passed unanimously out of committee after already having won approval of the House. It now goes to the full Senate..

Health officials suggest that persons at highest risk of disease — including young children, pregnant women, the elderly, and those who have weakened or compromised immune systems — should avoid raw or unpasteurized milk and raw milk dairy products that may contain disease-causing microorganisms.

Pasteurization, or heating milk to high temperatures, kills campylobacter as well as other bacteria that cause foodborne illness, such as salmonella, listeria, and E. coli. These bacteria can cause mild to severe diarrhea, abdominal pain, fever, headache, nausea and vomiting.

Utah has about a dozen raw-milk dairies — most sell cow milk, but a few offer goat milk.

The product is called "raw" or "real" milk because it hasn't gone through pasteurization, the heating process that lengthens shelf life and kills bacteria responsible for several infectious diseases. Raw milk also has not been homogenized, a sort of straining process that breaks up the cream and prevents it from floating to the top.

Raw milk's popularity has grown in recent years. Many people who are lactose intolerant say they are better able to digest raw milk because it contains the natural enzymes and beneficial bacterial usually killed during pasteurization. In addition, raw milk usually comes from cows that are grass fed and not given additional growth hormones to increase production.