One year after having his raw milk farm raided, Durham farmer Michael Schmidt returned to the Ontario legislature to once again ask the government to legalize unpasteurized milk.

Celebrity chef Jamie Kennedy and two Progressive Conservative members backed Schmidt on Wednesday in calling for the province to regulate the sale of raw milk.

"The issue is not that we are requesting that everybody in Ontario has to drink farm-fresh milk, but we say there needs to be the choice for people, if they make an informed choice, that they can actually consume farm-fresh milk," Schmidt said at a news conference.

The government, however, isn't considering legalizing raw milk.

Premier Dalton McGuinty says the best advice he's received is that unpasteurized milk is unsafe, a position echoed by the health and agriculture ministers.

"If (the advocates) consider (raw milk) an advantage, that's something that they can stick with," Health Minister George Smitherman told reporters.

"This debate has been considered and it has been decided .... Our position is clear and it's not going to change."

While rural Conservative members Randy Hillier and Bill Murdoch support Schmidt, Conservative health critic Elizabeth Witmer says she's not convinced raw milk is safe.

Schmidt says raw milk is not dangerous in itself, only unsanitary conditions at raw milk farms can cause health problems.

He is calling for certification and testing of cows, farms, and milk so that the sale of unpasteurized milk can be verified as safe.

The farmer argues that the province's decades-old law that makes the sale of raw milk illegal needs to be revisited because refrigeration techniques have come a long way since then.

Schmidt also announced the first raw milk symposium, which is expected to take place in Toronto on May 31. He said international experts from around the world will attend.

Farmer faces charges

Exactly one year ago, armed officers from the Ministry of Natural Resources raided Schmidt's farm and seized equipment and computers.

He was charged with failure to obey a written order to refrain from storing or displaying raw milk products.

One month later, and after losing 50 pounds on a hunger strike, Schmidt brought a cow to the steps of the legislature. He marked the end of his hunger strike by drinking a glass of milk from the cow he brought.

Schmidt's trial has been set for May 23 in Newmarket. He says he has already spent more than $100,000 on his legal defence.

With a report from CTV's John Musselman and files from The Canadian Press