K A S H R U T . C O M_©

December 16, 2024 from Food Safety News

"Drinking raw milk — even from a certified dairy — puts you at risk for intestinal foodborne diseases, among them E. coli, Salmonella and Listeria. Not only that, diverting contaminated milk to raw cheese production is not necessarily safe.

"That’s the warning from a team of public health scientists from California and local, state, and and federal partners who investigated a multi-jurisdictional outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium associated with raw (unpasteurized) milk.

"Carried out from Oct. 18, 2023, through May 4, 2024, the investigation, which was in relation to 171 cases with the outbreak, swung a spotlight onto the likely source of the outbreak: Raw Farm’s raw milk. Originally Organic Pastures, Raw Farm is based in Fresno, CA.

"According to the report, as of May 4, 2024, 171 cases — 159 confirmed and 12 probable — were identified from five states: California with 167, New Mexico with 1, Pennsylvania with 1, Texas with 1, and Washington with 1. The California cases were from 35 local health jurisdictions throughout the state.

"wenty states explicitly prohibit raw milk sales within the state where it is produced in some form and 30 allow it in various scenarios, including on-farm sales only. Federal law prohibits the sale of unpasteurized milk across state lines, but individual state laws govern the sale of unpasteurized milk within the state.

"According to the recent report, the majority — 65 percent — of cases occurred in October. Specimen collection dates ranged from Sept. 23, 2023, through March 12, 2024.

"The median age of patients was 7 years, and nearly 40 percent of the patients were younger than 5 years old. Sixty-four percent were male. Twenty-two , or 14 percent, of 162 patients with available information required hospitalization; no deaths were reported.

"Of the patients with information available, 93 percent reported consuming Raw Farm LLC unpasteurized milk.

"And while some people assume that food poisoning isn’t all that serious, a look at some case histories in recent lawsuits filed against Raw Farm reveal that some patients can suffer severe intestinal problems, intense pain for a considerable length of time, and even kidney failure.