An Ontario dairy farmer who was charged after illegally selling unpasteurized milk says the provincial law is outdated, adding that he has about 150 regular customers and a three-year waiting list.

Michael Schmidt's farm near Durham, in southwestern Ontario north of Guelph, was raided by police and provincial authorities on Nov. 21. He was charged with operating a milk plant without a licence.

'It's such an ancient law. I'm not saying that everybody should drink raw milk, but I'm saying people should have a choice.' -Farmer Michael Schmidt

Health officials say pasteurization, the process of heating a food to a specific temperature then cooling it, eliminates disease-causing bacteria such as salmonella and E. coli O157:H7 — the same strain that contaminated the drinking water to deadly effect in Walkerton, Ont.

However, unpasteurized milk can be purchased in some European countries and a number of U.S. states.

"It's such an ancient law. I'm not saying that everybody should drink raw milk, but I'm saying people should have a choice," Schmidt said.

"People are grown-up enough and informed enough that they can make their own choice and the government doesn't have to tell them what to drink."

Shareholder system

To skirt the provincial law, he set up a shareholder-style arrangement where the cows are co-owned by the customers. Schmidt then charges for feeding, milking and taking care of the animals.

He said about 150 families have bought into the system and others are on a three-year waiting list to join in, "begging and begging" to be involved.

On Tuesday, Schmidt was still providing the contraband dairy products to some customers.

However, medical authorities warned that unpasteurized milk can pose a danger.

"If it's not properly handled, it becomes very hazardous, especially for children," said Dr. Hazel Lynn, the medical officer of health at the Grey Bruce Public Health Unit.

Convicted in 1994 for selling raw milk

During the raid a week ago, police and officials swooped in and closed off Schmidt's lane as he was leaving the farm on a weekly milk run.

Soon, the whole farmyard was packed with vehicles and armed officers secured his buildings. Schmidt said he had to wait in his kitchen for 7½ hours as officers seized most of his processing equipment, dairy products and accounting files.

He said officials told him they had been investigating his operation for eight months — but he questioned why it took them so long.

"They could have given me a phone call and I would've told them, 'Yes, I do that,'" he said.

He said authorities have known of his operation for more than a decade and he doesn't know why they decided to pounce now.

In 1994, he was convicted for selling unpasteurized milk. Schmidt said the fact that he continued to sell it was widely known and publicized in local newspapers.

The dairy farmer has been on a hunger strike since his farm was raided, saying it is his only line of defence.

He wants the government to bring his equipment back, reimburse him for the damages done and back off until the issue is dealt with either by the provincial legislature or in court.