A gag-inducing chemical used in anti-freeze will be required to be mixed into all batches of raw milk sold in Victoria, the state government has announced.
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The new regulations come in the wake of the death of a three-year-old Mornington Peninsula child, who died after being fed raw milk by his parents.
Three children were also admitted to hospital in the last year after being fed milk from the same producer, Mountain View Organic Dairy.
The death has been referred to the coroner, and federal authorities are investigating whether raw milk should be banned from sale altogether.
Freshly minted Minister for Consumer Affairs Jane Garrett announced on Sunday morning her government wasn't prepared to wait for the outcome of the federal investigation.
She will introduce regulations on January 1 requiring all raw milk sold in Victoria to include a bittering agent.
The agent, commonly used in varnish to prevent nail-biting, would make treated milk "absolutely unpalatable" and the drinker would "recoil in horror", Mrs Garrett said.
"Raw milk has legitimate uses, but it is not safe to drink. We are going to better regulate the industry to protect consumers."
Raw drinking milk is banned from sale in Australia due to health concerns.
Producers are able to get around the ban by selling their milk as a cosmetic product. The milk implicated in the death was sold as bath milk, and carried a warning that it was not for human consumption.
Despite that, healthfood shop owners have told Fairfax Media it was common knowledge customers were buying the milk to drink rather than to bathe in.
Dairy Food Safety Victoria says it has four licensees in Victoria producing and selling unpasteurised milk.
Dairy producers who breach the new licence conditions face a fine of 120 penalty units, or $17,700, and could have their licence to produce dairy products cancelled.