Some organic milk producers have stopped production after Victoria took action to stop people drinking raw milk.

The death of a three-year-old boy in December last year, linked to the consumption of unpasteurised bath milk, as well as three other cases of hemolytic uremic syndrome in children under 5-years-old, prompted changes to dairy licences.

Victoria is the first state to force producers selling milk for cosmetic purposes, labelled as bath milk, to add a bittering agent to give the milk a distasteful flavour.

Manager of the Miranda Dale Dairy in south-east Victoria, Reg Matthews, said he had lost 70 per cent of his business over night because of the new licence arrangement.

“We’ll bring out a low temperature pasteurised product. Whether that can sustain us enough to keep the business going remains to be seen,” he said.

“Really what happens this afternoon, my son is waiting for me, we’ll sit down and start looking at the animals and make some decisions as to what if anything we are going to sell off and get a few dollars in the door.”