Schmidt’s raw milk shut down

York Region health unit has gained a court injunction to finally shut down Michael Schmidt’s raw milk operation.

Health units have been trying for years to shut him down, but it finally came this week.

Schmidt beat the first shut-down effort by claiming that his customers own the cows and he was only milking them as a service.

He has been marketing raw milk since 1984, making this one of the longest health-unit battles to protect the public.

Many farm families consume raw milk from the herds they own.

But in this case, the court said the owners are not looking after the cattle, so they don’t qualify.

Schmidt said he’s forced to shut down, but held open a possibility of an appeal on the basis of infringement of Canadian charter rights.