Tag: raw milk

Raw Milk Products Implicated In E. coli O157:H7 Illnesses

Raw milk products from Organic Pastures (Fresno County, CA) are the probable source of five California cases of E. coli O157:H7 according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture. All five children became infected with the same strain of E. coli O157:H7 between August and October; three of the children were hospitalized with hemolytic uremic syndrome.

The five children live in four different California counties – Contra Costa, Kings, Sacramento and San Diego. While E. coli O157:H7 has not been recovered from lab samples of the company’s raw milk, the only food exposure they have in common is raw milk from the Organic Pastures dairy.

The California Department of Public Health has ordered a statewide recall of all raw milk products from Organic Pastures, except for cheese that has been aged a minimum of 60 days – the aging process is supposed to allow time for pathogens to die. In addition, Organic Pastures has been placed under a quarantine order; until further notice, the company may not produce raw milk products – including raw butter, raw cream, raw colostrum and Qephor – for the retail market.

This is the second time that raw milk products from Organic Pastures have been implicated in an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 illnesses. In 2006, six children became infected with the pathogen after consuming raw milk or raw colostrum produced by Organic Pastures. On that occasion, too, the pathogen was not recovered from milk samples; however, the epidemiological evidence linking the illness to raw milk and colostrum from the dairy was strong.

State food safety experts are carrying out a complete inspection of the Organic Pastures operations. The present quarantine will not be lifted until the facility has been found to meet all sanitation requirements under state law and until lab tests confirm that the dairy’s raw milk products are in compliance with regulatory standards.

Individuals who have consumed raw milk products from Organic Pastures and who develop symptoms of E. coli O157:H7 infections – including abdominal cramps and diarrhea which is often bloody – should seek immediate medical attention. Young children and the elderly who become infected with this pathogen are at risk of developing hemolytic uremic syndrome, a life-threatening complication that is associated with this pathogen.

Raw Milk – The Inconvenient Truth

Our next door neighbor, on learning yesterday that I’m a food safety microbiologist, asked me whether there were any foods I avoided. “I don’t eat raw sprouts,” I replied,”And I don’t drink raw milk.

One month ago today, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services reported that raw milk supplied to a school event by a local farm infected 16 people with Campylobacter jejuni. The identical strain of Campylobacter was recovered from stool samples obtained from the 16 victims and from milk samples collected from the farm’s bulk milk tank.

According to a July 15th report in Food Safety News, a parent of one of the Wisconsin school children went to a relative’s farm and collected raw milk from the farm’s bulk milk tank to bring to the event. The farm does not sell raw milk to consumers; it supplies milk to a licensed dairy for pasteurization.

On June 27th, the Alaska Division of Public Health reported on a cluster of 4 cases of Campylobacter; all four victims were infected with the same strain of Campylobacter jejuni. All four people reported drinking raw milk from the same cow-share farm in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley – the only common element. Two of the 4 victims reported that a total of three family members also had experienced symptoms of acute gastroenteritis, but had not sought medical treatment. The three unreported victims also had consumed raw milk from the same farm.

Yesterday, FDA announced that it was investigating – in conjunction with officials in North Carolina and South Carolina – three confirmed cases and an additional five probable cases of campylobacteriosis in people who drank raw milk from Tucker Adkins Dairy in York, SC. One of the three confirmed victims was hospitalized. The eight confirmed and probable victims all report having consumed raw milk obtained from the dairy on June 14, 2011. The victims come from three different households.

Most Campylobacter infections are relatively mild and short-lived. Nevertheless, Campylobacter, which is one of the most common causes of diarrhea in the USA, sometims produces severe illness – including bloody diarrhea – and is estimated to cause approximately 124 deaths annually in the United States. Campylobacter also is responsible for as many as 40% of the cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome reported annually in the US. Guillain-Barré is an autoimmune disease typified by paralysis that lasts for several weeks, and usually requiring intensive care.

FDA is urging consumers not to drink raw milk from Tucker Adkins Dairy. In my opinion, that warning doesn’t go far enough. To understand the risks, please check out Real Raw Milk Facts.

When you’re done, perhaps you will appreciate why I don’t drink raw milk.

Raw Milk Does It Again

This just in, courtesy of Wisconsin’s Department of Health Services.

“Bacteria That Caused Illnesses Among School Event Attendees Matches Strain Found In Unpasteurized Milk From Local Farm”

“MADISON – Laboratory test results show that the Campylobactor jejuni bacteria that caused diarrheal illness among 16 individuals who drank unpasteurized (raw) milk at a school event early this month in Raymond was the same bacteria strain found in unpasteurized milk produced at a local farm, according to officials from the Department of Health Services (DHS) and Western Racine County Health Department (WRCHD). A parent had supplied unpasteurized milk from the farm for the school event.

Stool samples submitted to the WRCHD by ill students and adults were sent to the State Laboratory of Hygiene where they tested positive for the bacteria. Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) food inspectors collected milk samples from the bulk tank at the farm, which tested positive for Campylobacter jejuni. Further testing by the State Hygiene lab showed the bacteria strain from the stool samples and the milk samples matched. Additionally, interviews with event attendees revealed that consuming the unpasteurized milk was statistically associated with illness. Health officials said that this combination of laboratory and epidemiologic evidence indicates that the illnesses were caused by the unpasteurized milk consumed at the school event.

Campylobacter jejuni bacteria can cause diarrhea, which can be bloody, abdominal cramping, fever, nausea and vomiting. Rarely, an infection may lead to paralysis after initial symptoms have disappeared. Campylobacter can be transmitted by consuming food contaminated directly or indirectly by animal feces or handled by someone with the infection who has not adequately washed hands after using the bathroom.

The farm did not sell the unpasteurized milk and there was no legal violation associated with the milk being brought to the school event. The farm is licensed and in good standing with the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.”

Note the last paragraph. Since the farm did not SELL the unpasteurized milk, there was no legal violation. But that doesn’t make the farm’s actions either sensible or safe – as 16 people have just learned the hard way.

Also, raw milk advocates who deny that unpasteurized milk can be the source of food-borne disease, please note. The identical strain – the outbreak strain – of Campylobacter jejuni was recovered from stool samples of the outbreak victims AND was found in milk samples taken from the bulk milk tank at the farm. This is not “just” epidemiological evidence. The trigger was pulled and the gun was still smoking.

Raw milk is a high risk food and should never be offered – not even for free – to a susceptible population. That includes school children.