Health Law

More Raw Milk Problems: Pennsylvania Dairy's Permit Suspended

By Drew Falkenstein

In the wake of a campylobacter outbreak linked to raw milk from Family Farms Cooperative in Indiana, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture has suspended the permit of Pasture Maid Creamery to sell raw milk for human consumption.  The suspension occurred after testing found Campylobacter in raw milk samples from the dairy.  Notably, the tests were not random; the Department of Ag conducted testing because the PA Department of Health had recently received reports of campylobacteriosis in multiple dairy customers.  

The PA Department of Agriculture's news release on the outbreak states as follows:: .

The Department of Health has recently received new reports of consumers who became ill after drinking raw milk from Pasture Maid Creamery, owned and operated by Adam Dean. Anyone who bought raw milk from that farm is urged to discard it immediately and contact their health care provider if they become sick.

Additional samples of milk collected from the farm on March 26 were confirmed by the Department of Agriculture laboratory to contain Campylobacter. These are the latest samples from the farm found to contain this organism, which can cause severe diarrhea and vomiting.

Pasture Maid Creamery sells raw milk directly to consumers who sometimes provide their own bottles.  

Unlike fresh raw fruits and vegetables, raw milk is produced in an environment with fecal material (cows and goats may go to the bathroom while they are being milked). The feces can get onto the milking equipment and into the milk pails.

Feces can also contaminate raw meat and poultry during slaughter and processing. The risk of getting sick from drinking raw milk is similar to the risk from eating raw or undercooked ground beef.
 

Full post as published by Food Poison Blog on April 08, 2010 (boomark / email).