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Organic Pastures Dairy May Be the Center of A Federal Investigation

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By: Ariana Duarte & Caryn Kochergen

Mark MacAfee owns and operates "Organic Pastures Dairy" just outside of Fresno.

For nearly ten years his company has produced and sold "raw" ... or unpasturized milk.

But this year, a new state law went into effect that nearly destroyed his thriving business.

"It made measuring coliforms, which are a beneficial bacteria, had to be such a low level that you couldn't pass the test," said Mark.

It's known as AB1735, and this week, after a two-month battle to block the bill... A Superior Court Judge issued a "temporary restraining order" that would keep the state from capping the amount of coliform in commercially sold raw milk.

"What that did was save raw milk for California and allowed a big hearing to happen within the next 6 to 8 weeks to allow the evidence to be put forward to secure ourselves or the long term," said Mark.

The ruling was a huge win for Mark... who can now continue selling his product to organic food stores in California.

But Mark says, just hours after the judge's decision...he ran into an entirely new set of problems.

"I got a call last evening from two of our employees that work for us here that said that FDA agents had been arriving at their home and forcing them to answer lots of questions," said Mark.

One of those employees was Amanda Hall who says FDA agents tried to bribe her into wearing a wiretap.

"They asked me if I was willing to wear a wire... I said, 'No!' and he said, 'Well, there could be some benefit for you.' and I said, 'Well, how much money?' and he goes, 'Well, not millions, but we could probably work something out," said Amanda.

According to Amanda, FDA agents wanted her to wear the wire during conversations with her boss.

She says, she believes, the agents wanted to catch Mark illegally selling the raw milk out of state.

"We sell raw milk all over the place, including out of state. However, it's not for human consumption and it has never been for human consumption. It is for pet food consumption and it's clearly stated on the bottle," said Mark.

Something, he says, the FDA  permitted four years ago.

But Mark says he believes the real reason FDA agents are working so hard to bust him... is to take away his credibility and eventually... end the sale of raw milk in California.

"We're not talking about cocaine or guns we're talking about just milk. And to criminalize that and think that that's some kinda crime is really quite crazy when you think about it," said Mark.

KMPH spoke with one of the FDA agents who allegedly asked Mark's employee to wear a wiretap.

He says he has no comment on the matter.

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