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• Always boil raw milk
• Store at 4ºC
• Consume it within 3 days of purchasing it

TREAT RAW MILK SAFELY

The raw milk has unique virtues such as its taste, texture and smell. At the same time, it is a very direct link with good farmers, because it can only be sold by farms that meet a series of animal health and hygiene requirements in their milking facilities .

However, raw milk, due to its special composition, can contain bacteria that are harmful to health, mainly Salmonella , Campylobacter , Listeria  and Escherichia coli.

In Spain, the direct sale of raw milk to the consumer is allowed as long as the requirements established in the hygiene package regulations and the additional requirements established in Royal Decree 1086/2020 , of December 9, by which regulate and make flexible certain conditions of application of the provisions of the European Union regarding hygiene in the production and marketing of food products and activities excluded from their scope of application are regulated.

Milk-producing farms may only supply raw milk from their own farm directly to the final consumer or to retail establishments that supply directly to the final consumer if they meet the following requirements:

• The establishment is authorized and registered in the General Registry of Food and Food Companies
• The milk has to be sold
• The package label indicates the expiration date not exceeding three days after milking and the following indications:
  • Raw milk without heat treatment: Consume only after boiling for at least one minute.
  • Store refrigerated between 1 and 4 ºC.
• Retail establishments may only use raw milk as a raw material or ingredient for food processing if it is boiled or subjected to an equivalent culinary treatment.
• However, catering establishments that serve food to vulnerable communities , such as hospitals, nursery schools, colleges or homes for the elderly, cannot use raw milk.

To drink milk safely , follow the instructions below:

	Transport raw milk quickly to your home and boil it immediately , in order to destroy any bacteria it contains. Use a container with a wide base and stir while it boils. Once the boiling foam has risen, turn off the heat. Immediately, you have to cool it down and put it in the refrigerator, in the coldest place, at a temperature below 4ºC, and it is necessary to keep it covered to prevent it from becoming contaminated and acquiring odors from other foods.
	If you cannot boil the milk right away, put it in the fridge at a temperature below 4ºC. But boil it as soon as possible .
	You can also freeze raw milk , just like you do with other foods. Freezing, however, does not kill bacteria, so to ensure safety, remember that it is best to always boil milk before freezing . To maintain its structure and prevent it from precipitating, it must be stirred well before freezing and, even, it must be stirred several times while it freezes.
	You must defrost the milk in the refrigerator. It may happen that it has a slightly grainy texture, which is normal. Remember to keep frozen milk well covered to prevent it from absorbing strange odors.
	It is recommended that raw milk be consumed within 3 days of  purchase, that is, without exceeding 72 hours.

Pregnant women, children, the elderly and people with depressed immunity are more susceptible to foodborne infections, for this reason, they must take special care to strictly comply with these measures. 

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