Tag Archives: Raw Milk Cheese

Raw milk sickens infant; lawsuit filed

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It’s always the kids.

As a father with four daughters and a fifth on the way, I relate to the let’s not make kids sick aspect of raw milk.

Proponents of raw milk say that is just so much statistical shit, and that hardly anyone gets sick from raw milk.

Except it is entirely preventable, and well-meaning people get sucked in by nutritional gobbledygook.

Like Angela Pedersen, who says her almost one-year-old Larry contracted E. coli O157:H7 from raw milk she bought at the Herb Depot and Organic Market in Monett, Miss.

"It was a living hell. I wouldn’t wish that upon anyone. I don’t know how many days I would look at my son and I didn’t know if he was going to take another breath.”

The family’s now suing that business. Pedersen says back in April she went to the store to buy almond milk. She says she was then told about the benefits of raw milk.

"We were approached and told that the goat’s milk would be a better alternative. It’s healthier than breast milk and it would be wonderful for him. We agreed to try it," says Pedersen.

Casey Jacob: Dr. Phil’s germaphobic mom

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On Dr. Phil’s “Ask the Doctor” segment today(1), a team of medical professionals talked with a woman who is seriously afraid of germs. Jennifer, who washes her hands so much that they are constantly cracked and bleeding—including after opening the mail or putting in a rented movie— said this fear developed after seeing what grew from a swab of her own skin in a microbiology class.

There were multiple specimens alive and well in Jennifer’s house (as with most any house), according to swabs by microbiologist Carolyn Jacobs, who sampled several frequently contacted surfaces, such as light switches and the TV remote. In the kitchen, she targeted the sink and what she felt was one of the dirtiest areas in the home: the can opener.

The show’s M.D. identified bacillus and staphylococcus strains in samples from the can opener, but claimed they were “completely benign and can’t hurt you at all.” To prove his point, he grabbed a spoonful of the red stuff in the dish in front of him and smiled as he took a bite. Fortunately, it was only red Jell-O.

However, he reasoned, human immune systems serve a purpose and are meant to encounter microbes in everyday life. Jennifer admits, “I have this huge fear of my (six-month-old) daughter getting sick and dying,” from the bacteria and viruses she knows are everywhere.

The M.D. is right in saying that human bodies are built to deal with microorganisms—both harmful and benign. However, as in the case of consuming raw milk, some members of society are better equipped for them than others, and children may not be as well prepared to fight off tough pathogens.

Jennifer is right to worry… a little.

That attitude of compulsive cleanliness could do a lot of good for food handlers in the farm-to-fork distribution chain that lie beyond mom’s kitchen: fry cooks, butchers, servers, fruit pickers, slaughterhouse managers, and even even cheerleaders at lemonade stands. Something to think about.

Casey Jacob is the married version of former barfblogger Casey Wilkinson, and continues to work with Doug in various capacities.

Raw milk sickens four in Conn.

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At least four people have been sickened with E. coli, possibly linked to consuming raw milk from The Town Farm Dairy in Simsbury, Connecticut.

The Hartford Courant reports that the dairy has stopped producing and selling milk and milk products indefinitely.

Lawyer Bill Marler is representing several raw milk victims across the U.S. Unfortunately, he may have some more clients.

A table of raw dairy outbreaks is available at http://www.foodsafety.ksu.edu/articles/384/RawMilkOutbreakTable.pdf

Raw milk: Should the state ban it? Or drink it up?

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Andrew Schneider??? of the Seattle P-I, writes in a decent raw milk piece  this morning that consumers almost always link arms with government public health agencies banning the sale of food believed to contain dangerous pathogens. But that spirit appears to vaporize when the consumable is raw milk. Below are some excerpts:

“Although the number of cases nationwide is low, contaminated raw milk can contain a strain of E. coli that sometimes causes hemolytic uremic syndrome, a life-threatening complication that can cause kidney failure and death.

It took a 2005 outbreak of E. coli in raw milk that sickened 18 people in Washington and Oregon and put two children on life support to get all the players — the dairy and raw milk communities, lawmakers, the state agriculture and health departments — together to try to figure out what to do, Gordon said.

Last week, the owners of the dairy that sold the tainted milk, Michael and Anita Puckett, pleaded guilty in federal court in Seattle to the charge of distributing adulterated food.

Claudia Coles, food safety manager for the state Department of Agriculture, agreed that something had to done, that "in these outbreaks, it is almost always the children that become the victims."

The state’s options for trying to control the sale of raw milk products were limited. In other states where it was banned completely, a black market flourished. So the question facing regulators is whether public health is better protected by regulating, testing, licensing and inspecting the raw milk or just by banning it so it goes underground with no oversight.

Doug Powell says he’s not surprised that government health officials denounce the dangers of raw milk then turn around and license the sale of the same milk.

"In part, it’s because of the almost evangelical way people talk about raw milk and that America is founded on consumer choice," said the associate professor of food safety at Kansas State University.

"The numbers of illnesses from outbreaks caused by unpasteurized milk are not that high. You could very easily make the cases that ‘Wow, maybe tomatoes should be regulated a whole lot more than we do now because the numbers of cases of salmonella saintpaul are up to 550 now,’ " said Powell, who is also scientific director for the International Food Safety Network.

"I don’t care if people drink raw milk. What I’m particularly concerned about is them then imposing their choice on their kids, because they’re the ones who get sick. People have the right to sell a product, but if it makes people sick, they have a right to sue."

Seattle food safety lawyer Bill Marler is up to his neck in many of those lawsuits. He grew up drinking raw milk on the farm "because that’s what my dad wanted us to do," he said. He has tried injury suits stemming from most of Washington’s raw milk outbreaks and is now handling similar cases in California and Missouri.

"The entire raw milk debate is so emotionally charged that there’s no common ground at all," Marler said. "The reality is if you poison a little child by selling a product that could easily be pasteurized, you’re going to have to deal with the legal issues surrounding that," he said.

Raw milk risk

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The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report in the current issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report on Escherichia coli O157:H7 infections in children associated with raw milk and raw colostrum from cows — California, 2006. Some highlights below:

On September 18, 2006, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) was notified of two children hospitalized with hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). One of the patients had culture-confirmed Escherichia coli O157:H7 infection, and both patients had consumed raw (unpasteurized) cow milk in the week before illness onset. Four additional cases of E. coli O157:H7 infection in children who had consumed raw cow milk or raw cow colostrum produced by the same dairy were identified during the following 3 weeks. In California, intrastate sale of raw milk and raw colostrum is legal and regulated. This report summarizes the investigation of these cases by CDPH, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), and four local health departments and subsequent actions to prevent illnesses. As a result of this and other outbreaks, California enacted legislation (AB 1735), which took effect January 1, 2008, setting a limit of 10 coliforms/mL for raw milk sold to consumers. Raw milk in several forms, including colostrum, remains a vehicle of serious enteric infections, even if the sale of raw milk is regulated.

Six cases were identified; four persons had culture-confirmed infections, one had a culture-confirmed infection and HUS, and one had HUS only. The median age of patients was 8 years (range: 6–18 years), and four of the patients (67%) were boys. The six cases identified during this investigation were geographically dispersed throughout California. All six patients reported bloody diarrhea; three (50%) were hospitalized. Illness onset occurred during September 6–24, 2006. Isolates from the five patients with culture-confirmed infections had indistinguishable pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) patterns. The PFGE pattern was new to the PulseNet (the National Molecular Subtyping Network for Foodborne Disease) database and differed markedly from the pattern of the E. coli O157:H7 strain associated with a concurrent multistate outbreak linked to spinach consumption (1). Four of the five E. coli O157:H7 isolates were subtyped by multiple-locus variable-number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA) according to a protocol used by CDPH laboratory and were found to have closely related MLVA patterns (2).

Five of six patients reported they had consumed brand A raw dairy products in the week before their illness onset; the sixth patient denied drinking brand A raw milk, although his family routinely purchased it. Among the five patients who consumed brand A dairy products, two consumed raw whole milk, two consumed raw skim milk, and one consumed raw chocolate-flavored colostrum. Four of the five patients routinely drank raw milk from dairy A. One patient was exposed to brand A dairy product only once; he was served raw chocolate colostrum as a snack when visiting a friend. No other food item was commonly consumed by all six patients. No other illness was reported among household members who consumed brand A dairy products.

Using purchase information supplied by the patients’ families, investigators determined that the patients consumed raw milk from lots produced at dairy A during September 3–13, 2006. Milk samples from these production dates were not available for testing. Fifty-six product samples from several lots with code dates of September 17, 2006, or later were retrieved from retails stores and dairy A and were tested for aerobic microflora, total coliform, fecal coliform, and E. coli O157:H7. The outbreak strain of E. coli O157:H7 was not found in any product samples. However, standard aerobic plate counts and coliform counts of collected samples with code dates of September 17 through October 9, 2006, were indicative of contamination. Colostrum samples had high standard plate counts and total coliform counts, and fecal coliform counts of 210–46,000 MPN/g. California standards limit standard plate counts for raw and pasteurized milk to 15,000 CFU/mL and total coliform counts for pasteurized milk to 10 coliform bacteria/mL. At the time of this outbreak, California did not have a coliform standard for milk sold raw to consumers. California also classifies colostrum as a dietary supplement, for which it has no microbiologic standards, rather than a milk product.

Raw milk from dairy A was the likely vehicle of transmission, but the exact mode of milk contamination in this outbreak was not determined.

Asymptomatic cows can harbor pathogens and cause human illness by shedding pathogens in untreated milk or milk products. These findings suggest that if raw milk had been subject to the same coliform standard as pasteurized milk in California, milk from dairy A might have been excluded from sale and this outbreak might have been averted.

From 1998 to May 2005, raw milk or raw milk products have been implicated in 45 foodborne illness outbreaks in the United States, accounting for more than 1,000 cases of illness (CDC, unpublished data, 2007). Because illnesses associated with raw milk continue to occur, additional efforts are needed to educate consumers and dairy farmers about illnesses associated with raw milk and raw colostrum. To reduce the risk for E. coli O157 and other infections, consumers should not drink raw milk or raw milk products.

Camembert Wars: if this is progress, I’ll take mine pasteurized

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The AFP is reporting today that “real” camembert makers can rejoice. In addition to reducing the geographic boundaries of the camembert region, now the only camembert makers that will be recognized with the prestigious AOC (appellation d’origine contrôlée) label will:

–    use only raw milk;
–    have at least half of the cows providing the milk from Normandy origin; and,
–    ensure that their cows graze on Normandy pastures for at least 6 months of the year and fed hay the remainder of the time.

The grazing restrictions are new to the AOC conditions. I find them particularly surprising as research has shown that grass-fed or not, all cows can carry E. coli O157:H7.

The “real camembert” supporters apparently found the decision to be “undeniable progress.” Lactalis and Isigny-Sainte-Mère, two large companies that previously produced more than 80% of AOC Camembert, decided last year to begin heat-treating their milk as a safety measure.

Francophiles, can read today’s original story for themselves. The French clearly articulate that the raw milk camembert has a velvety taste compared to the pasteurized version, but that the traditional methods are more onerous because they require various testing measures to avoid pathogens such as listeria. According to my favorite food safety advisor, you cannot test your way to safe food. The new and improved camembert will have enhanced risks.

Raw milk and crypto in pools — policy choices and public health

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Information about risk — specifically the microbiological risks in food and water — needs to be rapid, reliable, relevant and repeated. Often those with the most information and the most credibility in an outbreak situation are the local medical officers of health, or some other government-type.

And they often don’t say much.

But there are examples of officials doing their jobs and being accountable to the public they serve. In the aftermath of the first case of homegrown bovine spongiform encephalopathy in Canada in May, 2003, Brian Evans, the chief veterinarian for the government of Canada, did an excellent job of explaining here’s what we know, here’s what we don’t know, here’s what we’re doing to find out more, and whatever we find out, you’ll hear it from me first.

Two public health officials have stepped out in the past two days and offered their analysis on a couple of persistent health risks: raw milk and parasites in swimming pools.

Yesterday, Dr. Stephen Ostroff, director, Bureau of Epidemiology, Pennsylvania Department of Health, wrote in the Lebanon Daily News that,

"In light of recent discussions pertaining to raw-milk health issues, the Pennsylvania Department of Health continues to advise consumers that raw milk is an inherently unsafe product regardless of how it is produced. While the permitting process unquestionably enhances the safety margin of raw milk, and we strongly endorse this program, it is not a substitute for milk pasteurization.…

Last year, an outbreak of salmonellosis due to consumption of raw milk sold in south-central Pennsylvania produced 29 illnesses. Sadly, many of the victims were children who had no choice in the kind of milk their parents purchased for them. Indeed, the department is currently investigating another raw-milk-associated outbreak of campylobacter infections. So far, more than 54 illnesses have been reported.

While standard hygiene and production practices can reduce the risk from consuming raw milk, they simply cannot eliminate it. In a 2006 survey of Pennsylvania dairy farms, pathogens were found in 13 percent of bulk tank raw-milk samples. Therefore, the department believes it is necessary to warn consumers about the risks associated with raw milk and to urge persons with immune disorders, pregnant women and young children to avoid consuming this product in the interest of protecting the public’s health."

Today, David N. Sundwall, executive director of the Utah Department of Health, wrote in The Salt Lake Tribune that,

"The UDOH, along with our partners at Utah’s local health departments, carefully considered whether to restrict young children from pools. Young children are more likely to become ill from crypto and more likely to leave poop in the pool. While it might seem like common sense to ban them, we cannot say that they caused the outbreak or that banning them would prevent another one.
Children have been swimming in public pools in Utah in past years when outbreaks didn’t occur. To our knowledge, no state bans children from public pools. Older children and adults, who have control of their bowels when healthy, are also susceptible to "leaking" if they swim with diarrhea.

We chose to continue to allow children to swim with swim diapers and waterproof swim pants. We believe this will help prevent contamination of the pool, but it isn’t foolproof.

Parents of young children need to act responsibly and with common sense. They need to monitor their children and give them frequent potty breaks. Most important, they need to keep them out of the pools when they are ill with diarrhea and for two weeks afterward.

The UDOH takes seriously its responsibility to protect people from health threats like cryptosporidium. After last summer’s outbreak, we considered multiple measures to help prevent a recurrence this summer. Preventing crypto transmission will require a combination of changes at pools and changes in behavior."

Both Ostroff and Sundwall are too be commended. You may not agree with what they say, but at least you know why they came to the positions they advocate. Public health types, please speak out.

Making Love or Making Camembert

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In an interview for CNN yesterday, the mayor of Saint-Loup de Fribois, France, Philippe Meslon said, "A camembert not made out of raw milk is like making love without sex.” This story, “France milks cheese for all its worth,” tracks the camembert business in Normandy and the struggle to earn the coveted Appelation d’Origine Contrôlée.

While I totally appreciate the tradition involved in making lait cru camembert (and personally love the taste), I still applaud the largest cheesemakers such as Lactalis and Isigny Sainte-Mère for choosing to heat-treat their milk. That safety measure meant that they consequently lost their AOC (“real camembert”) label, but it also meant significantly reducing the risks for their many consumers.

The mayor of Saint-Loup also says a Frenchman is “someone who cultivates with modern evolution his past. It’s someone who protects moral values, cultural values and artistic values, and when I say cultural values I would include camembert." That’s a nicely ambivalent statement supporting a staple of his region’s economy.

Normand cheesemaker, François Durand has 40 cows and the AOC label. He proudly claims that making cheese is about not cutting corners. "You have to have the passion. Yes it’s difficult because it means a lot of work. We make it all by hand.”

With recent changes in the large “industrial” cheeses, however, some camembert makers have been driven out of business. Michel Delorme says the new and stricter rules combined with his age made him stop producing handmade camembert. Although Durand misses his cheese, he’s kept some souvenirs such as his milk cans to remember his cheesemaking days.

Passion is important and nostalgia is nice, but the hundreds of years of tradition that go into camembert making in France need to include food safety practices to protect both French culture and consumers.

Mom says raw milk made kids sick

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A mother writes in the blog of the New Jersey Star-Ledger that,
 
"What began as a two-night getaway at a farm in Lancaster County, Pa., turned into a calamity of nightmarish proportions for me and my two kids when we drank raw milk.

My friend and I took our children to a working farm during spring break. They milked cows, fed bottles of milk to calves and ran free on acres of land – a rarity for these city kids.

They also drank the milk that was on the breakfast table, a milk I might add, that was the most silky and delicious any of us had ever tasted. We were told it was unpasteurized, but made to believe it was safe. (I assumed it was at least boiled).

A day after returning home, we knew we had made a terrible mistake. The first to fall ill was my five-year-old daughter, who had a high fever, then stomach flu symptoms, then my four-year-old son, then me.

My friend and her family had become violently ill as well. We spent seven days worried that our kids could dehydrate and forced them to drink gallons of Gatorade. My friend did get dehydrated and needed intravenous fluids in order to return to her job as a nurse.

After a week of this torture, medical tests showed we had contracted campylobacter, a bacterial food poisoning that can be found in unpasteurized milk. The six of us were prescribed antibiotics.

Thankfully, we’re all going to be OK.

To be fair, campylobacter can also be spread by contact with raw or undercooked poultry, as the farm owners later told us, but the likely culprit according to my doctor was the raw milk."