Tag Archives: Family Cow

5 sick, again, from Campylobacter linked to Penn. raw milk

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In Jan. 2010, the owners of The Family Cow, a producer of raw milk in Pennsylvania, in partnership with Whole Foods, took the Intertubes to extol the virtues of raw milk (video below).

In Jan. 2012, after a preliminary investigation had linked 12 people sick with Campylobacter to raw milk consumption, Edwin Shank, the owner of Shankstead EcoFarm, trading as The Family Cow in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, wrote in an e-mail to customers, “In spite of some over-eager reporting, there have been NO positive raw_milk_family_cow(1)campylobacter tests from unopened container of our raw milk either by the PDA lab or from QC Labs, the certified lab that we use.

“When your emails started pouring in, one thing became immediate obvious. There is an unusually powerful stomach and lower gastrointestinal illness with acute 7-10 day diarrhea going through our communities. Some say it’s nationwide.

“So, if we were looking for an easy way out, and looking to shift the blame, it looks like we could have our answer. It’s not us! It’s not our milk! It’s a virus. It’s the flu. It is nationwide so don’t blame us!”

At least 65 people were sickened in that outbreak.

Now, the Pennsylvania Departments of Agriculture and Health has advised consumers to discard raw milk produced by The Family Cow because of potential bacterial contamination, based on laboratory tests and five sick people.

Again Campylobacter.

Again, epidemiology works.

The Family Cow, owned and operated by Edwin Shank, sells directly to consumers in an on-farm retail store and at drop off locations and retail stores around Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and the Lehigh Valley, as well as south-central Pennsylvania.

Agriculture officials ordered the owners of the farm to stop the sale of all raw milk until further notice.

Shank, 43, told Trib Live, “We’re working with the state, doing additional testing and strengthening safety protocols. We have our laboratory. We test and hold every batch.”

Campylobacter toll up to 35; strain found in unopened bottles

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The Maryland health department has found bacteria in two bottles of raw milk produced by Pennsylvania’s Family Cow as the number of people sickened in the campylobacter outbreak on Thursday grew to 35 in four states — including 28 confirmed cases in Pennsylvania, four in Maryland and one in New Jersey.

The Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Laboratories Administration confirmed the presence of Campylobacter jejuni in two unopened raw milk samples purchased from The Family Cow farm, according to a department news release issued Wednesday.

The final test results of samples taken at the farm by the Pennsylvania Department of Health on Friday and Monday may be available on Friday, according to Agriculture Department Press Secretary Samantha Krepps.

And because public health types don’t have enough to do, New Jersey moved a step closer today to approving on-farm sales of raw milk.

It’s-not-us raw milk toll rises to 20 sick with campylobacter

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According to the Pennsylvania Department of Health, the number of confirmed cases of Campylobacter infection has increased to a total of 20 confirmed cases – 16 cases have been confirmed in Pennsylvania and and four cases in Maryland.

Testing of the product is still underway at the Department of Agriculture.

Samantha Krepps, Press Secretary for the Department Of Agriculture told Fox 43, "Once the family found out there was a problem – they voluntarily stopped production."

’It’s not us! It’s not our milk! It’s a virus. It’s the flu. It is nationwide so don’t blame us!’ 12 now sick with campylobacter tied to Penn. raw milk

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The number of confirmed cases of campylobacter infection has increased to 12 — eight in Pennsylvania residents and four in Maryland residents.

Edwin Shank, the owner of Shankstead EcoFarm, trading as The Family Cow in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, voluntarily halted the sale of milk today but insisted that raw milk samples that the farm sent last week to QC Labs has tested negative for pathogens.

In an e-mailed letter to customers, Shank wrote:

“In spite of some over-eager reporting, there have been NO positive campylobacter tests from unopened container of our raw milk either by the PDA lab or from QC Labs, the certified lab that we use. There are 4 samples, between us and the PDA which are being tested presently. We expect them later today.

“When your emails started pouring in, one thing became immediate obvious. There is an unusually powerful stomach and lower gastrointestinal illness with acute 7-10 day diarrhea going through our communities. Some say it’s nationwide.

“So, if we were looking for an easy way out, and looking to shift the blame, it looks like we could have our answer. It’s not us! It’s not our milk! It’s a virus. It’s the flu. It is nationwide so don’t blame us!”

Testing of the product is still underway at the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, which will update the situation daily, according to a spokeswoman.

Epidemiology and DNA fingerprinting are much better tools for solving outbreaks of foodborne illness than simple testing.