to the greater content of carotenoid pigments
in fresh vegetation (p. 267). (Bright orange
cheeses have been dyed.)
Pasteurized and Raw Milks In modern cheese
production, the milk is almost always
pasteurized to eliminate disease and spoilage
bacteria. This is really a practical necessity in
industrial cheesemaking, which requires that
milk be pooled and stored from many farms
and thousands of animals. The risk of
contamination — which only takes one
diseased cow or dirty udder — is too great.
Since the late 1940s, the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration has required that any cheese
made from unpasteurized, “raw” milk must be
aged a minimum of 60 days at a temperature
above 35ºF/2ºC, conditions that are thought to
eliminate whatever pathogens might have
been in the milk; and since the early 1950s it
has also banned the import of raw-milk
cheeses aged less than 60 days. This means