National Milk Producers Federation

Resources and Statistics    |    Recent News and Outbreaks    |    NMPF Letters and Press Releases

Resources and Statistics

• Food Facts - The Dangers of Raw Milk: Unpasteurized Milk Can Pose a Serious Health Risk  Resource available through the US Food and Drug Administration. The FDA also has a site Raw Milk Misconceptions and the Dangers of Raw Milk Consumption, where FDA provides a close examination of the popular raw milk claims and anti-pasteurization claims. The review is based on scientific literature.
  

 

• Food Safety and Raw Milk  A website from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that includes highlights and resources for consumers about raw milk. The site contains information for consumers trying to decide about raw milk, a Q&A, and estimates of foodborne illnesses.

 

• www.realrawmilkfacts.com  A website with information on the benefits and risks associated with raw milk consumption. The site also contains a table of outbreaks, illnesses and recalls linked to raw (unpasteurized) and pasteurized dairy products in the United States during 2010.

 

• NASDA 2011 Raw Milk Survey  The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) conducted a survey to gather information about current regulations regarding sale of raw milk in each of the 50 states.

 

• Disease Outbreaks Associated with Raw Dairy Products  Foodborne illness outbreak data dating back to 1973, compiled by Doug Powell of Kansas State University

 

• A study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports unpasteurized milk is 150 times more likely to cause food-borne illness outbreaks than pasteurized milk, and such outbreaks had a hospitalization rate 13 times higher than those involving pasteurized dairy products. Of the 121 outbreaks linked to dairy products, 60% were caused by raw milk and 39% by pasteurized milk. "When you consider that no more than 1% of the milk consumed in the United States is raw, it's pretty startling to see that more of the outbreaks were caused by raw milk than pasteurized," says Barbara Mahon, senior author on the paper and deputy director of enteric diseases at CDC. The 13-year review, published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, is one of the largest done to date. It also found that states where the sale of raw milk is legal have twice as many outbreaks as states where it is illegal. (Emerging Infectious Diseases, 2012, vol 18)

 

• A government investigation published in November 2010 has tied raw milk consumption to a 2008 outbreak of E. coli in Connecticut, which landed four people in the hospital with life-threatening illnesses. It also puts a price tag on the outbreak: $413,402. The report is the latest to warn against raw or unpasteurized milk, which experts say is becoming increasingly popular in the U.S.  (Clinical Infectious Diseases, 2010, vol 51)

 

• New study says raw milk not panacea for the lactose intolerant. In a just-completed study out of Stanford Medical School, Christopher Gardner, an associate professor of medicine, concludes, "The data fail to support our hypothesis that Raw Milk confers some benefit over Pasteurized Milk in the form of an improvement in the experience of symptoms of lactose intolerant adults.". (Grist, November 1, 2010)

 

• Pasteurization: Implications for Food Safety and Nutrition  by Cifelli, Maples, and Miller. Published in Nutrition Today September/October 2010, volume 45, issue 5, p 207-213. The article is a good review of the changes that occur in milk as a result of pasteurization, and includes a nutritional comparison of raw and pasteurized milk.

 

• Rubbed Raw.  CEO's Corner.  NMPF CEO/President discusses the issue of raw milk.  June 2010. 

 

• Raw Milk Consumption: An Emerging Public Health Threat?  Symposium sponsored by the International Association for Food Protection - February 17, 2009

Recent News and Outbreaks

• Outbreak: Missouri.  The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services is investigating an increase in cases of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli in Central Missouri from late March through early April. In addition to a Boone County 2-year-old, a 17-month-old toddler also developed symptoms of hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS, a severe condition that can lead to permanent kidney damage in some who survive the illness. Five victims have been identified so far, and health officials have determined consumption of raw dairy products was a common exposure among all who are ill. (Columbia Tribune, April 9, 2012)
  
  Update: The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services has confirmed two more illnesses in an ongoing outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 reported from counties in central Missouri, bringing the total number of cases to seven. Raw milk has been cited as a common link among some of the illnesses, but state public health officials have not determined a definite source. (Food Safety News, March 12, 2012)

 

• Legislation: Iowa.  In April 2012, a federal judge in Iowa rejected a lawsuit that sought to expand access to raw milk by challenging a Food and Drug Administration rule that bans interstate shipments of unpasteurized milk. U.S. District Judge Mark Bennett in Sioux City dismissed the two-year-old case filed by a nationwide group of raw milk drinkers, producers and distributors. The lawsuit contends the FDA rule allowing only pasteurized milk to be sold across state lines violates their constitutional rights to travel freely and decide what to feed their families. The case was dismissed, concluding the raw milk supporters have not suffered an injury because the government has made it clear it doesn't plan on enforcing the regulations against individuals. (Telegraph Herald, April 4, 2012)

 

• Recall: Pennsylvania.  On April 2, 2012, the Pennsylvania State Departments of Agriculture and Health announced the recall of raw milk and raw milk cheese from Jersey Hollow Farm in Kutztown, Pennsylvania after an independent lab confirmed products from the dairy tested positive for Salmonella. The recall affects unpasteurized milk sold in plastic bottles and cheese made from unpasteurized milk dated March 25, 2012. Thus far, no illnesses linked to the recall have been reported.(Food Safety News, April 3, 2012)

 

• Recall: California.  Lab tests have confirmed the presence of Campylobacter in raw cream from Claravale Farm, according to state officials who have quarantined and issued a statewide recall notice for all the raw milk, raw nonfat milk and raw cream produced by the dairy. California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) officials said the state Department of Public Health is continuing to conduct an epidemiological investigation into a cluster of Campylobacter infections, although no illnesses have yet been conclusively linked to Claravale raw milk. An earlier report noted that authorities are investigating at least nine cases of campylobacteriosis associated with consumption of unpasteurized milk products from Claravale Farm. Many of those sickened are children. In February, Claravale also temporarily halted milk sales as CDPH began investigating the possibility that some of its products were contaminated with Campylobacter. (Food Safety News, March 23, 2012)

 

• Outbreak: Kansas.  According to the Kansas State Department of Agriculture, since 2007, there have been three outbreaks of disease associated with consumption of raw milk in Kansas. In October 2007, 68 people became ill with campylobacteriosis due to consuming cheese made from raw milk at a Kansas community celebration. In a separate outbreak in 2007, unpasteurized milk purchased from a single dairy was also implicated as the source of illness for 25 persons due to campylobacteriosis. More recently, reported in January 2012, 18 people became ill in an outbreak of campylobacteriosis associated with consumption of raw milk from a dairy in south central Kansas.(Kansas Department of Agriculture Press Release, March 16, 2012)

 

• Regulation: Pennsylvania. A federal court has granted the FDA a permanent injunction preventing Daniel L. Allgyer and his Rainbow Acres Farm from distributing raw milk and raw milk products in final package form for human consumption across state lines. U.S. District Judge Lawrence F. Stengel, of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, also ruled that Allgyer’s participation in a so-called “private buying club” does not shield him from federal oversight, and that Allgyer’s “cow share” agreements are a subterfuge for sales of raw milk.(FDA News Release, February 22, 2012)

 

• Outbreak: Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, West Virginia.  Six people have been infected with Campylobacter in an outbreak linked to raw milk from a farm in Pennsylvania, the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene said. Three cases have been reported in Pennsylvania and three in Maryland. All six infected individuals drank unpasteurized milk from the Family Cow dairy in Chambersburg, PA, according to the health department news release.  (Baltimore Sun, January 27, 2012, Food Safety News, January 28, 2012, Maryland Department of Health Press Release, January 27, 2012)
  
  Update: Maryland public health officials say lab tests confirmed Campylobacter jejuni bacteria in two unopened containers of unpasteurized milk from the Your Family Cow farm in Pennsylvania. The dairy agreed to temporarily stop the sale of raw milk. Pennsylvania health officials now say 80 people who drank unpasteurized milk from the Your Family Cow dairy became infected with Campylobacter -- by State: Pennsylvania (70); Maryland (5), West Virginia (3) and New Jersey (2). This is now the largest raw milk outbreak in Pennsylvania history. (Food Safety News, March 1, 2012, Food Safety News, February 24, 2012, PennLive.com, February 13, 2012, Food Safety News, February 13, 2012)

 

• Legislation: Indiana.  In January 2012, proposed Senate Bill 398 was amended to allow some farms to sell raw milk.(Indiana Bill SB 0398) The measure passed in the Senate, but was never picked up in the House. Ultimately, the legislature did pass House Bill 1129, which requires the Indiana State Board of Animal Health to conduct a study of the issue of farmers selling unpasteurized milk to consumers. (Food Safety News, March 14, 2012)
  

 

• Outbreak: Massachusetts.  Massachusetts health officials are reporting that a person is suspected of being infected with brucellosis acquired from raw milk produced at a dairy farm in the western part of the state. Brucellosis is an infectious disease passed primarily between animals, but it can be acquired by humans through the consumption of raw milk. Twin Rivers Farm in Ashley Falls is being investigated as the possible source of infection, and the dairy's raw milk sales have been suspended. (Boston Globe, January 20, 2012, Food Safety News, January 21, 2012)
  
  Update: Massachusetts health officials said today that there was no brucellosis found at a Western Massachusetts dairy farm where raw milk sales were abruptly halted last week because the farm’s owner was thought to be infected with the rare germ. The farmer who first tested positive for brucellosis has now been confirmed to not have the infection, according to an email from the assistant commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR). State agricultural officials conducted blood tests on roughly 260 cows from the farm and also tested the raw milk. All turned up negative for the bacteria. (Boston Globe, January 27, 2012, Food Safety News, January 26, 2012)

 

• Recall: Washington.  Frisia Dairy and Creamery of Tenino, Wash., located about 15 miles southeast of Olympia, has recalled its retail raw milk products because they may be contiminated with E. coli. There have been no reported illnesses. The recall was initiated by the dairy after Washington State Department of Agriculture's (WSDA) routine, monthly sampling discovered toxin-producing E. coli in a skim milk sample. (Fox News, January 17, 2012)

 

• News: Washington, DC.  In January 2012, the Obama administration delivered its official response to the 6,078 signors of a petition on WhiteHouse.gov who requested federal-level legalization of all raw milk sales. The response indicated that the White House continues to support the current regulation of raw milk sales, which allow states to determine legality but prohibits its sale across state lines. Doug McKalip, White House senior policy adviser for rural affairs, wrote, "This administration believes that food safety policy should be based on science. In this case, we support pasteurization to protect the safety of the milk supply because the health risks associated with raw milk are well documented." (Original petition and response) (Food Safety News, January 9, 2012)

 

• Outbreak: California.  Raw milk products produced by Organic Pastures were recalled and quarantined by the state of California after five children drank Organic Pastures raw milk and were infected with the same strain of E. coli O157:H7. The children were infected from August through October.  Three of the five children were hospitalized with hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a serious condition that may lead to kidney failure. (Food Safety News, November 16, 2011, California Department of Health Press Release, November 15, 2011)

Update: In a letter to Organic Pastures owner Mark McAfee, the California Department of Public Health said 10 samples collected from the raw milk dairy's calf area were positive for E. coli O157:H7, and two were a genetic match for the outbreak strain that infected five children. Those findings support the probability, the public-health agency wrote, that the dairy's milk was contaminated, and led to the children's illnesses. The letter also listed a number of "sanitary deficiencies" it said were observed during an inspection of the dairy's production areas. (Food Safety News, January 20, 2012, Food Safety News, March 15, 2012)

 

• Outbreak: Washington.  The Cozy Vale Creamery's raw milk products (raw whole milk and cream) are being recalled from the licensed Grade A raw milk dairy because they may be contaminated with E. coli. Three illnesses have been reported in Cozy milk customers since August. The recall was begun after Washington State Department of Agriculture environmental swabbing at the facility discovered that locations in the milking parlor and processing areas were contaminated with toxin-producing E. coli bacteria. (The News Tribune, November 24, 2011, Food Safety News, November 25, 2011)

 

• Outbreak: New York.  On September 29, 2011, after two people were sickened by Campylobacter, the New York state departments of health and agriculture warned consumers in Tompkins County and surrounding areas not to drink unpasteurized milk produced at Jerry Dell Farm in Freeville, due to possible contamination. (Food Safety News, September 30, 2011)

 

• Issue: Wisconsin.  A decision by a Dane County judge to block a northeastern Wisconsin farm from selling raw milk might have reignited a longstanding debate over free taste and health safety. Kay and Wayne Craig, owners of Grassway Farm in Calumet County, had sued a state department after it shut down a membership program established for the farm's customers. The Craigs created the memberships so customers would become part-owners of the farm, claiming that complied with a state law that a farm's owners could legally drink unpasteurized milk from their own cows. The state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection ended the farm's plan because it allowed a regular base of customers to buy raw milk, which is illegal. (Channel 3000.com, September 23, 2011)

 

• Recall: Washington.  Pride & Joy Creamery, LLC of Granger, WA is recalling raw fluid milk because it may be contaminated with Escherichia coli bacteria (E. coli) that can cause serious illness. The unpasteurized milk was sold at the farm and distributed through nine retail outlets in King, Pierce, Snohomish and Skagit counties. The recall was initiated after sampling by the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) discovered that the product was contaminated with toxin-producing E. coli. Pride & Joy Dairy and WSDA are continuing their investigation into the source of the problem. WSDA and other public health officials are exploring the possibility that there has been human illness linked to this milk. (Washington State Department of Agriculture Press Release, September 19, 2011)

 

• Recall: Virginia.  The Meadow Creek Dairy of Galax, Virginia, recalled approximately four pounds of their Mini raw milk cheese sold in Fredericksburg, Virginia between July 7 – August 19, 2011. A sample of a cheese sampled by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration was positive for Listeria monocytogenes.(The Front Burner, August 24, 2011)

 

• Outbreak: North Carolina.  The FDA is working with officials in North Carolina and South Carolina to investigate an outbreak of campylobacteriosis in three people who consumed raw milk from Tucker Adkins Dairy in York, S.C. The three confirmed cases and another five probable cases are from three different households and each case reports that prior to becoming ill they consumed raw milk that was obtained from Tucker Adkins Dairy.(FDA Press Release, July 16, 2011)

 

• Issue Update: Sally Jackson Cheese, Washington State.  In a June 13, 2011 warning letter from the US Food and Drug Administration, FDA said that, in addition to E. coli O157:H7 detected in samples of aged cow milk cheese, the cheese maker's aged raw goat milk cheese tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes. An E. coli O157:H7 outbreak that sickened eight people in four states in December 2010 led to the closure of Sally Jackson Cheeses. (Food Safety News, June 29, 2011)

 

• Outbreak: Alaska.  Four people infected with Campylobacter jejuni bacteria in south central Alaska were participating in a raw milk cow-share scheme at a Mat-Su Valley farm. Officials believe the month-long pattern of cases points to a series of contamination events rather than a single bad batch.(Food Safety News, June 28, 2011)
  
  Update:  The Anchorage Daily News reports that an outbreak of a serious gastrointestinal illness connected to consumption of raw milk from an Alaska dairy is ongoing, with seven confirmed cases and 11 more that are suspected, state health officials said. The outbreak connected to unpasteurized milk began in May and has continued into July. The same rare strain of the Campylobacter pathogen was found in all seven cases confirmed in laboratory tests. And it also was confirmed in manure samples from the unnamed Mat-Su farm. The lab report, combined with the fact everyone who got sick drank raw milk from the same dairy, "affirms the conclusion that this outbreak is due to consumption of raw dairy products," the state bulletin said. (Anchorage Daily News, July 30, 2011), (Food Safety News, August 1, 2011) 
  

 

• Outbreak: Michigan.  A Michigan woman endured prolonged hospitalization for Q-fever meningitis and two other women were also diagnosed with bacterial Q-fever infections after they drank unpasteurized milk from a farm in Livingston County, according to the Michigan Department of Community Health. As a result of the three cases of Q fever, the Michigan health department issued a warning about the dangers of consuming unpasteurized milk.(Food Safety News, June 24, 2011)

 

• Outbreak: Wisconsin.  Fourth graders at a Raymond, Wisconsin elementary school drank unpasteurized milk at a school event.  Subsequently, 16 students and adults suffered from diarrhea, abdominal cramping, nausea, and vomiting from Campylobacter infections. The raw milk was donated by a parent.  The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) and the Western Racine County Health Department (WRCHD) confirmed that the raw milk was the source of the outbreak.(Food Safety News, June 18, 2011)

 

• Artisan Cheesemakers: Washington.  A review of recent events in Washington state related to recalls and enforcement activities affecting the artisan cheese industry. Includes comments from Estrella Family Creamery and Sally Jackson Cheese. (Seattle Magazine, May 2011)

 

• Enforcement Action: Pennsylvania.The Justice Department, at the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, has filed a complaint for permanent injunction against Daniel L. Allgyer, owner of the Rainbow Acres Farm, in Kinzers, Pa., for distributing unpasteurized (or “raw”) milk for human consumption in interstate commerce. The complaint, filed on April 19, 2011, in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, also alleges that Allgyer violated federal law by misbranding the “raw” milk containers by failing to provide the label information required by law. (FDA Press Release, April 26, 2011)

 

• Outbreak: Texas.  Four cases of a rare Salmonella infection in Texas have been linked to raw milk and three of the four cases have been linked to a single dairy farm, Lavon Farms in Plano, Texas, according to the Dallas County Health and Human Services. Local media reports says three of those who fell ill were children.  The county health department  issued its alert about the outbreak on the same day state lawmakers held a hearing on bills to ease restrictions on the sale of raw milk. (Food Safety News, April 21, 2011)

 

• Recent News: Massachusetts.  The state has ordered Eastleigh Farm to stop selling raw milk after a test revealed high levels of bacteria in a sample. The milk had 15 times the allowable limit of coliforms - the sample contained 155 coliforms per milliliter of raw milk, when only 10 coliforms per milliliter is allowed - according to a cease-and-desist order that was in effect on April 5, 2011. (MetroWest Daily News, April 6, 2011) Eastleigh Farms re-opened for business on April 11, 2011. (MetroWest Daily News, April 12, 2011)
  
  Update:  In an excellent commentary, veterinarian Dr. Richard Lerner discussed raw milk in the context of a local dairy farmer who was ordered last week to stop selling raw milk after tests revealed high levels of bacteria. Lerner noted that the rhetoric around raw milk is heated. “The reason that those involved in public health get so bent out of shape about raw milk is twofold: 1) It turns the clock back on science, on proven methods for reducing foodborne illness, and 2) due to the vociferous, combative nature of its proponents, we are required to spend time on a food item that is (fortunately) consumed by a minuscule portion of the population,” he said in the article. Lerner went on to say that regarding food safety, “Currently, there is no such thing as ‘food rights.’ You have no more right to buy raw milk at the grocery store than you have the right to eat in a restaurant that has been closed by the Department of Public Health.”(MetroWest Daily News, April 13, 2011) 
  

 

• Legislation: Wisconsin.  On March 24, 2011, the Wisconsin Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (WIAAP) again voiced its strong opposition to AB 1531/2 and SB 306/2 that would legalize the sale of ‘raw milk’ in Wisconsin. Recent testimony by the Wisconsin Veterinary Medical Association (WVMA) also expressed opposition to the proposed law.(WIAAP Press Release, March 24, 2011)

 

• Recent News: Minnesota.  In March 2011, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture impounded unpasteurized milk and uninspected meat earlier this month from a man who regulators allege was illegally selling the products from a van parked alongside a city street in St. Paul. Minnesota allows on-farm sales of raw milk directly to customers, and meat raised for a farmer's personal consumption need not be inspected. But livestock and poultry sold to the public must be inspected before slaughter and Minnesota state law does not permit the retail sale of milk that has not first been pasteurized to kill dangerous pathogens.(Food Safety News, March 23, 2011)

 

• Legislation: FDA review of the 60-day aging rule for raw milk cheeses.  Recent research has demonstrated pathogenic bacteria could possibly survive a 60-day aging period in some raw milk cheeses.  FDA is currently reviewing the federal regulation that cheeses made from raw milk be aged for 60 days.  
  "Raw milk cheesemakers fret over possible new rules" (New York Times, February 4, 2011); "Raw milk debate simmers as states, FDA mull rules" (Reuters, February 23, 2011); "Feds are mulling changing raw milk cheese rules" (Bloomberg Businessweek, March 3, 2011)
  

 

• Legislation: Massachusetts.  A bill was proposed in Massachusetts that would allow for the sale of raw milk off-site from the farm.  It also allows the agriculture commissioner to adopt regulations specifically related to the handling, distrbiution and sale of raw milk.  (Marler Blog, February 1, 2011)

 

• Recall: Washington.  Routine sampling by the Washington State Department of Agriculture has identified E. coli in samples of raw fluid milk from The Country Market of Medical Lake.  No illnesses have been reported. (Food Safety News, February 4, 2011)

 

• Legislation: Minnesota.  Three state senators have proposed easing restrictions on the sale of raw milk in Minnesota. Their bill would legalize most sales of raw milk, including sales at farmers markets and deliveries to private homes. Current law allows selling unpasteurized milk only at the farm which produces it. (Star-Tribune, Minnesota, January 28, 2011)

 

• Legislation: Oregon.  House Bill 2222 will expand a dairy's ability to supply customers with raw cow's milk in Oregon. Under proposed amendments to HB2222, raw milk producers with more than three cows, or more than nine goats or nine sheep, must be licensed. Proposed amendments to the bill apparently would limit a dairy's raw milk production to 10 cows. (Capital Press, Oregon, January 27, 2011)
  
  Update:  Dr. Paul Cieslak, communicable disease manager at the Oregon Department of Human Services, spoke against expanding provisions for the sale of raw milk before the Oregon House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee.  (Food Safety News, February 4, 2011) 
  

 

• Issue Update.  An Oregon Public Broadcasting segment and Web article discussing raw milk cheese production and FDA regulation. Included is a discussion with Kelli Estrella (owner of Estrella Family Creamery whose Listeria-contaminated cheese affected eight people in December 2010), Sally Jackson (whose Sally Jackson Cheeses were linked to an outbreak of E. coli with eight illnesses in December 2010), Bill Marler (foodborne illness attorney) and Jennifer Thomas (with the US Food and Drug Administration).  (Oregon Public Broadcasting, January 26, 2011)

 

• Legislation: Wyoming.  In January 2011, the Wyoming House Agriculture Committee voted against a bill that would have made cow share schemes legal. The vote was 6-3 against the bill, which would have allowed consumers to purchase a share of a cow or a goat, paying the farmer-rancher for a percentage of the animals care, and in exchange gain the right to an equal percentage of the raw milk. (Food Safety News, January 24, 2011)
  
  Update.  In January 2011, Rep. John Eklund, R- Cheyenne, introduced a revised version of the Wyoming Food Freedom Act, which would ease regulations on certain home-based food producers. The original bill, which died in committee, would have exempted all homemade foods from state licensing and inspection rules, provided they were sold directly to consumers. The new legislation is similar, but does not exempt milk and meat products from government oversight. Eklund said he decided to leave out raw milk and meat because those foods had caused health officials the greatest concern. (Casper Star Tribune, January 27, 2011)

 

• Legislation: New Jersey.  Legislation was introduced (Bill No. A-743) in New Jersey that would permit the sale of raw milk directly to consumers and establish a raw milk permit program. (NJ.com, February 11, 2011)
  
  Update.  By a vote of 71-6-1, the full Assembly has approved a measure sponsored by Assemblywoman Connie Wagner to aid New Jersey farmers by allowing for the sale of raw milk. The bill now awaits action by the Senate. (NJ.com, March 17, 2011)
  
  Update.  On April 4, 2011, NMPF and IDFA sent a letter to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and State Senate Democratic Majority Leader Stephen Sweeney, urging them to oppose legislation in the state senate that would allow the direct sale of raw milk to the public. (NMPF Press Release, April 4, 2011; Full letter from NMPF and IDFA, April 4, 2011)

 

• Legislation: Texas.  Legislation was introduced in Texas (HB 75 and SB 237) which would allow the sale of raw milk to consumers at farmers markets, farm stands, and flea markets.  (Marler Blog, January 24, 2011)

 

• Legislation: California.  On January 11, 2011, Humboldt County Supervisors considered a request from Mark McAfee, Founder and CEO of Organic Pastures Dairy (one of two raw milk dairies in California), to allow raw milk sales in Humboldt County. Humboldt County is one of three counties in California that bans the sale of raw milk to consumers.  In August 2010, residents came forward with stories of how raw milk dramatically improved their health while advocates urged the board to consider data and research on raw milk benefits. The board voted for staff to come back with a response, with special attention to the topics of retail sale and production. (Contra Costa Times, January 10, 2011) 
  
  Update: Ultimately, the Humboldt County Supervisors unanimously voted to maintain the status quo of the county's ban on raw milk sales.  While supervisors vowed to keep their doors open to raw milk advocates, they decided that the risk to public safety outweighed any public demand.  According to documents presented by the Department of Health and Human Services, 10 raw dairy outbreaks with 138 illnesses and one pasteurized dairy outbreak with 23 illnesses were reported in 2010. Even though raw milk accounts for less than one-half of 1 percent of all fluid milk sales in the United States, it causes two to 10 times as many outbreaks as pasteurized products, the documents said. (Contra Costa Times, January 12, 2011)

 

• Outbreak.  A state court has ruled that raw milk from the Hartmann Dairy Farm was responsible for an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 in Minnesota last spring that affected at least eight people (4 hospitalizations, 1 case of hemolytic uremic syndrome). A judge ruled Minnesota public health officials were justified in seizing the farm's raw milk products and the products must be destroyed. (Food Safety News, December 23, 2010)
  
  Update: State inspectors who recently sought to seize and destroy products from rogue dairy farmer Michael Hartmann found that much of the raw milk and other products had gone missing, according to court filings. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture claims Hartmann is in contempt of court, because a judge found last month that Hartmann's products were produced under unsanitary conditions and ordered them destroyed. Raw milk produced by Hartmann was blamed by the state for causing eight cases of E. coli O157:H7 in May, and seven instances in July and August of Campylobacter and Cryptosporidium. (Star-Tribune, January 14, 2011)
  
  
Update: A court hearing to determine whether Minnesota dairy farmer Michael Hartmann is in contempt of court has been postponed until March 10. The contempt request is the latest in a conflict between Hartmann Dairy Farm and the state of Minnesota that dates back a decade, when Hartmann lost his Grade A dairy permit over unsanitary conditions. At issue now are impounded food products that disappeared from Hartmann's farm. (Food Safety News, February 11, 2011) During the March 10th hearing, the judge declined to hold dairy farmer Michael Hartmann in contempt of court for consuming the raw dairy products from his farm that the state of Minnesota had impounded.  The judge also declined to impose a monetary penalty.  (Star-Tribune, March 11, 2011)

 

• Outbreak.  Sally Jackson Cheese of Oroville, in northeastern Washington state, has been linked through an epidemiological investigation to an E. coli outbreak, resulting in a nationwide recall of all its gourmet raw milk cheese and revealing sanitation problems at the dairy. On December 17, 2010, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that Sally Jackson Cheese had agreed to recall its cheese after eight people were stricken with an identical strain of E. coli O157:H7. (The Seattle Times, December 17, 2010)

 

• Outbreak.  Thirty-eight people have been infected by an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak that is being preliminarily blamed on cheese that was sold and offered in free samples by Costco. Costco offered the Bravo Farms Dutch Style Gouda cheese for sale and also for in-store tasting at its stores in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada and the San Diego area in California. The cheese was handmade in small wheels and hand dipped in red wax and made from whole raw milk aged for 2 months. (CDC Update, November 12, 2010; Food Safety News, November 5, 2010)
  
  Update: On January 27, 2011, US FDA agents with US Marshals, seized 80,000 pounds of Bravo Farms cheese. The cheese was impounded to prevent further distribution of the food into the marketplace. Bravo Farms has since resumed production of pasteurized cheese. (Food Safety News, January 29, 2011) 
  

 

• Enforcement Action.  The Missouri attorney general is seeking a court order against Morningland Dairy, to force the destruction of raw milk cheese reportedly contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus. On October 1, the Milk Board had requested the dairy destroy their entire cheese inventory because of likely contamination. (Food Safety News, November 2, 2010)
  
  Update: On Tuesday, January 11, 2011, a trial will begin to determine whether 50,000 pounds of cheese held at the facility of Morningland Dairy will be destroyed. The cheese has been under embargo since August 26; Morningland was also ordered to cease all cheese production on that date. Morningland Dairy had filed a countersuit asking the court to lift the August 26 embargo and to vacate the October 1 destruction letter.
  
  Update: On March 1, 2011, the Howell County Circuit Court upheld a ruling by the Missouri State Milk Board that Morningland of the Ozarks, a dairy in Mountain View, would have to destroy all the raw-milk cheeses it produced between January and June 2010, when traces of two bacteria, Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus, were found in samples taken from a store in California. The decision effectively spells the end of the road for Morningland. (Food Poison Journal, March 2, 2011; Riverfront Times, March 3, 2011)
  

 

• Outbreak.  Minnesota state health officials detected additional illnesses linked to consumption of raw dairy products from the Hartmann dairy farm in Sibley County. The illnesses include three people infected with Campylobacter jejuni, and four people infected with the parasite Cryptosporidium parvum.  (Minnesota Department of Health Press Release, October 28, 2010)

 

• Enforcement Action.  Federal authorities say they've seized all the cheese from the Estrella Family Creamery in Montesano after the company refused to recall items contaminated with Listeria. Several raw milk cheeses were recalled in the spring, but FDA's follow-up tests in August found that the bacteria remained. (The Seattle Times, October 25, 2010)

NMPF Letters and Press Releases

• NMPF Urges Food and Drug Administration to Defend Laws Against Raw Milk Sales - November 1, 2011
• NMPF and IDFA Letter to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and State Senate Democratic Majority Leader Stephen Sweeney - April 4, 2011
• NMPF and IDFA Criticize New Jersey Raw Milk Bill, Urge Governor to Oppose It - April 4, 2011
• NMPF and IDFA Thank Wisconsin Gov. Doyle for Vetoing Raw Milk Bill - May 19, 2010
• NMPF and IDFA Criticize Wisconsin Raw Milk Bill, Urge Federal Lawmakers to Legislate Restrictions on Sales of Unpasteurized Milk - May 11, 2010
• Dairy Groups Urge Senators to Include Raw Milk Facilities in Food Safety Regulations - November 13, 2009