Saturday, January 17, 2015

Somerby, Leicestershire Farm hit by falling milk prices sells 'raw' milk direct, Rutland Radio Video

Somerby, Leicestershire Farm hit by falling milk prices sells 'raw' milk direct



Jane Barnes has a licence from the Food Standards Agency to sell unpasteurised milk, sometimes known as raw milk, directly from her farm in Somerby, Leicestershire.

She is aiming to sell 20 litres a day, priced at £1 a litre, to begin with.

Tesco  currently retails 1 litre of Pasteurised British Milk for £1

The farm run with her husband had been affected by the fall in milk prices globally.

The price they receive has dropped 10p per litre since July, although she did not want to say how much they receive.


Distribution of raw milk is illegal in Scotland. While it is legal in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, the only registered producers are in England. About 200 producers sell raw, or "green top" milk direct to consumers, either at the farm, at a farmers' market, or through a delivery service. The bottle must display the warning "this product has not been heat-treated and may contain organisms harmful to health", and the dairy must conform to higher hygiene standards than dairies producing only pasteurised milk.

As it is only legal to supply unpasteurised milk direct to consumers, it is illegal to be sold on the High Street, via shops or supermarkets.