The knowledge and skills needed to produce safe, high-quality raw milk products already exists. A new Agroscope publication explains how. It summarises the key findings of last year’s conference of the FACEnetwork, a European network of farmhouse and artisan cheese and dairy producers.

The three-day annual congress of the FACEnetwork, the body representing farmhouse and artisan cheese and dairy producers in Europe, took place in October 2023 on the theme of raw milk products. The event was hosted by the Centre of Excellence for Raw Milk Products, founded by Agroscope and the Canton of Fribourg in close partnership with the Swiss dairy and cheese sector.

An overview of all posters and presentations along with a summary of the key conference findings are now available in a new Agroscope publication, which examines the following topics in detail:

• The safety of raw milk cheese should be investigated on the basis of sound scientific criteria. One example is the eradication of Staphylococcus aureus GTB in dairy cattle. Agroscope has developed a routine method for detecting GTB and a plan for sanitising infected dairy herds which has proved effective in practice.

• The production of raw milk products from grassland-based milk is a sustainable way for humans to convert non-digestible biomass into high-quality food. This conversion is essential for global food security.

• More and more studies confirm the anti-allergenic effect of raw milk and raw milk products. Allergy protection is conferred partly by whey proteins which supply immune cells with micronutrients via the lymph system. In addition, most microorganisms in raw milk products have a positive effect on the human immune system. These positive effects must be actively communicated to all stakeholders since at present they are relatively unknown.

• Stringent, unilateral quality requirements for raw milk have led to an undesirable impoverishment of the microbial biodiversity of raw milk and raw milk products. New approaches are needed to halt and reverse this trend.

The scientific conference and fringe programme with visits to different dairies showed that Switzerland has the necessary knowledge and skills to produce safe, high-quality raw milk products. This expertise is held in high regard internationally. The Scientific Programme Committee concluded that this knowledge should be carefully cultivated and continually expanded. They suggested that the best way to do this would be to inspire young scientists and practitioners to take an interest in raw milk products and to promote research and production in this field.

Further Information and download of the scientific synthesis in English, German or French