Hartmann Dairy Milk Poisoning Case
The Hartmann Dairy farm in Gibbon, Minnesota, was implicated by state health officials as the source of an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 infections in May and June. Eight E. coli infections were part of the Hartmann Dairy outbreak.
.gif)
At the time, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) ordered owner Mike Hartmann to stop selling raw milk until he addressed the unsanitary conditions on his farm. MDA also directed him to comply with the state law that allows for the sale of unpasteurized milk only on the farm at which the milk was produced. Those restrictions remained in effect.
Now officials are wondering how seven new ill people acquired raw milk from the Hartmann farm that has been tied to four cases of Cryptosporidium parvum, a parasite, and three infections of Campylobacter. These illnesses occurred in months following the Hartmann E. coli outbreak.
Federal and state regulators have said raw milk carries a risk of disease because it hasn't been through the germ-destroying pasteurization process. Microscopic pathogens from the cows' manure inevitably contaminates raw milk and a kill step is required to wipe them out.
In its announcement about the latest Hartmann dairy outbreak, the Minnesota Department of Health said it has identified 47 other people who became ill in the state since 1 Jan 2010, after drinking raw milk from a variety of other sources throughout the state -- not the Hartmann Dairy. Most of those cases have been young adults or children, the department said.
Law firm PritzkerOlsen, P.A., is investigating the latest Hartmann Dairy outbreak and is accepting cases from families sickened by the bacteria or parasites. To talk to a food safety lawyer at the firm, call 1-888-377-8900 (TOLL FREE) or complete the free consultation form on the side of this Web page.
