Ten people, mostly children, are confirmed to have been infected with the bacteria, according to the California Department of Public Health. “Of the nine that were interviewed, six reported consuming Organic Pastures Dairy Co. brand raw milk prior to illness onset. Three denied known raw milk exposure,” the state reported, adding that a 10th person was not interviewed.
The case is attracting considerable attention because the patients are primarily children, with a median age of eight years. Four were hospitalized, including two children with hemolytic uremic syndrome, FSN said.
Another reason the case is attracting attention is that it is being contested by the founder and CEO of the 500-cow, organic dairy operation in Fresno who calls the state’s information “incorrect.” He argues that he interviewed the victims and their parents and that California officials were “wrong about the number of sick people and whether any of them developed HUS,” which can result in kidney failure, FSN said.
The dairy owner also argues that the batch of Organic Pastures unpasteurized raw milk linked to the outbreak “was because of an infection inside one cow’s udder and represents the first time in history that such an infection has been seen.” He says the dairy isolated the cow, Cow 149, and is now doing 20 tests a day as part of a stepped up food safety program at Organic Pastures.
California inspectors reported they had collected samples from equipment and surfaces at the dairy, as well as soil, water, cow feces on Feb. 8, several days after the implicated cow had been removed from the herd. They reported that, “It is unlikely that the positive findings from Feb. 8, 2016, represent conditions linked entirely to Cow 149.
And, the inspectors concluded that “the isolation of E. coli O157:H7 and non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing E. coli from cattle used to produce raw milk for human consumption is concerning and could result in additional illness to raw milk consumers in the future if not addressed at the dairy.”
So, the debate over raw milk regulation continues, driven by consumers who argue that raw milk and associated products are healthier and taste better, even as most public officials support pasteurization and consider the pathogen risk associated drinking raw milk to be unacceptable.
Agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration in the United States, and other regulatory agencies around the world say that pathogens from raw milk, including potentially tuberculosis, diphtheria, typhoid, and streptococcal infections, make it unsafe to consume.
So, while most public health officials oppose consumption of raw milk, consumer networks often use complex distribution schemes to sell directly from farms, or other arrangements, so significant quantities of raw milk continue to be consumed in the United States.
The California story comes out as Associated Press reports some West Virginia lawmakers and staffers became sick after drinking raw milk to celebrate a law loosening restrictions on the product. Now West Virginia health officials are investigating whether the milk was to blame for their fever, vomiting and diarrhea, and weighing allegations the raw-milk party broke the law.
At the same time, health officials regularly argue that the fact that a large proportion of the victims in milk-related disease outbreaks are children makes the need to regulate its distribution especially urgent. Nevertheless, the fight continues, especially since several states now have loosened rules to allow some raw milk sales in recent years. Thus, it will be important for producers to follow the results of this case which seems likely to lead to strongly contested legal battles as the controversy continues, Washington Insider believes