Does non-organic milk contain antibiotics?
It is illegal to have antibiotics in milk in Canada. Although the various Canadian organic trade associations have a philosophy that encourage organic farmers to limit the antibiotics given to cows, they also make provision for cases where the cow’s life is endangered, or when it would be inhumane not to treat the cows, for illnesses they may have, with antibiotics. However, no milk in Canada contains antibiotics. Whether organic or non-organic, milk from a cow given antibiotics is discarded for a minimum of 2 days after the cow has finished its treatment. The amount of time a cow is taken out of the system, and the amount of antibiotic it is given is determined by a veterinarian, whether at an organic or non organic farm. Milk is tested both at the farm on a selective basis, and again at the processor to ensure that no antibiotics are present in the milk. Specifically, milk samples are taken at the farm on a regular basis and sent to the University of Guelph for evaluation and EVERY l
