Market Owner, Farmer Arrested on Charges of Selling Raw Milk Products
As demand continues to increase for raw foods, prosecutors looking to crack down on the unlawful production and sale of unpasteurized dairy products have sought the arrests of a Venice, Calif., health food market owner, a farmer and farm employee.
Arrested Wednesday were James Cecil Stewart, who operates Rawesome Foods; Sharon Ann Palmer, who operates Healthy Family Farms; and Eugenie Bloch, a Healthy Family Farms employee, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Charges include selling products that don’t meet health standards; producing milk products without proper licensing; and conspiracy.
The Times notes that the arrests follow a year-long undercover investigation, in which agents purchased unpasteurized, or raw-milk, products from Healthy Farms stands in southern California. Raw milk is legal in California, but regulated.
Demonstrators gathered outside the Los Angeles courthouse Thursday to protest the arrests, the Associated Press reports.
