Food Poisoning Law Blog : Food Poisoning Lawyer & Attorney : PritzkerLaw : Food Safety, Outbreaks & Recalls

Cozy Vale Creamery of Tenino, Wash. is recalling raw milk products because of possible E. coli contamination.

The recall was issued after the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA)
discovered E.coli in the milking parlor and processing areas on environmental swabs taken from the dairy. Since August, three Cozy Vale customers have contracted E. coli infections.

The recall includes raw whole milk, raw skim milk and raw cream with “best if used by” dates up to and including December 6. The recalled milk products sold in pint, quart, half-gallon and gallon containers were sold at the on-farm store at 7018 Churchill Road, Tenino, WA and at the following locations:

Marlene’s Market, 2951 S. 38th St., Tacoma, WA

Marlene’s Market, 2565 S. Gateway Center Pl., Federal Way, WA

Mt. Community Co-op, 105 Carter St., Eatonville WA

Olympia Food Co-op, 3111, Pacific Ave., Olympia, WA

Olympia Food Co-op, 921 Rogers, Olympia, WA

Olympia Local Foods, 2442 Mottman Rd S.W., Turnwater, WA

Yelm Co-op, 404 1st St., Yelm WA

Although the state of Washington permits the sale of raw milk, WSDA warns consumers that there are serious potential health risks associated with it.

The E.coli lawyers at PritzkerOlsen can answer legal questions about an illness or hospitalization associated with this recall. Contact them for a free consultation by calling 1 (888) 377-8900 (TOLL FREE) or by submitting information online here. 

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Raw milk products produced by Organic Pastures of Fresno County, California are the subject of a recall and quarantine order announced by California State Veterinarian Dr. Annette Whiteford.

Under the recall, all Organic Pastures raw dairy products with the exception of cheese aged a minimum of 60 days are to be pulled immediately from retail shelves and consumers are strongly urged to dispose of any products remaining in their refrigerators. Until further notice, Organic Pastures may not produce raw milk products for the retail market. The order also affects Organic Pastures raw butter, raw cream, raw colostrum, and a raw product labeled “Qephor.”

The quarantine order came following a notification from the California Department of Public Health of a cluster of five children who were infected, from August through October, with the same strain of E. coli O157:H7. These children are residents of Contra Costa, Kings, Sacramento, and San Diego counties. Interviews with the families indicate that the only common reported food exposure is unpasteurized (raw) milk from Organic Pastures dairy. Three of the five children were hospitalized with hemolytic uremic syndrome, a serious condition that may lead to kidney failure. There have been no deaths.

Evidence Implicating Organic Pastures

While laboratory samples of Organic Pastures raw milk have not detected E. coli 0157:H7 contamination, epidemiologic data collected by the California Department of Public Health link the illnesses with Organic Pastures raw milk. Surveys indicate that only about three percent of the public report drinking raw milk in any given week so finding 100% of these children drank raw milk and the absence of other common foods or animal exposures indicates the Organic Pastures raw milk is the likely source of their infection.This is epidemiological evidence that can be used in a lawsuit against Organic Pastures to recover medical expenses, lost income and compensation for pain and suffering.

Contact Attorney Fred Pritzker and his E. coli litigation team for a free consultation.

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Raw milk E. coli deaths and raw milk Campylobacter outbreaks won't get much attention today in Washington, D.C., when supporters of raw milk rally against public health protections that restrict the distribution of what scientists know to be a dangerous food.

The Food and Drug Administration is one of the targets. To protect public health and put limits on the business of selling unpasteurized milk, the FDA wisely uses its interstate commerce authority to block distribution of raw milk across state lines. But Contgressman Ron Paul has just introduced legislation attempting to legalize those sales.

Grassfed on the Hill, a D.C. area private milk buying group and target of a recent FDA sting on purchasing raw milk, has organized the Capitol Hill rally where they plan to milk an actual cow and drink the fresh milk. The rally is expected to draw hundreds of raw milk supporters.

From a public health policy viewpoint, this latest P.R. stunt by raw milk enthusiasts will certainly obscure or distort the risks that people -- especially children -- face from consumption of milk not pasteurized to kill microscopic pathogens that can cause serious illness and death. The organisms can pass through a cow's udders and also enter the milk supply through cow feces in the milking environment. 

The mainstream view that unpasteurized milk is unsafe is held by local, state and federal health officials from coast to coast, including FDA, CDC, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association. The FDA simply wants to protect the public from disease.

Raw milk has been found to contain numerous pathogens that can cause serious illness, including Campylobacter, Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli, Salmonella, Listeria, and Brucella.  Ppasteurization was developed many years ago  to reduce diseases that were commonly caused by raw milk.

Getting sick from one of these germs can lead to a wide variety of illness. Some germs cause diarrhea, vomiting, stomach cramps, fever, headache, and body aches lasting for a couple of days to several weeks. Most healthy people with this type of illness recover, but hospitalization rates are usually 10-30%. Severe complications can include bloodstream infections, a polio-like paralysis, kidney failure, and death.  For example, E. coli O157:H7 infections lead to a severe complication called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) in 10% of children and HUS is fatal 5% of the time. In addition HUS survivors often suffer from lifelong medical issues, including the need for kidney transplants in some.

Illnesses from raw milk are particularly dangerous for people with weakened immune systems, such as the elderly, children, and people with cancer, an organ transplant, or HIV/AIDS. Germs found in raw milk and raw dairy products can be especially dangerous to pregnant women, sometimes leading to abortion, stillbirth, or severe disease in newborns. 

If you or a loved one has been sickened in an outbreak caused by raw milk, contact national food safety law firm PritzkerOlsen, P.A., at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free). Our law firm is one of the very few in the country practicing extensively in the area of foodborne illness, recovering millions for victims of food poisoning. 

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Raw milk is one of the riskiest of all foods a family could eat. That's the message a public health epidemiologist and veterinarian who works for the U.S. Public Health Service provides in a well-researched opinion written for FoodSafety.Gov.

Casey Barton Behravesh knows first hand as a vet how animals and their germs can contaminate all kinds of foods. Her job also is to investigate E. coli outbreaks and other outbreaks of foodborne illness caused by contaminated food or contact with infected animals. She has watched how many people have erroneously come to believe that unpasteurized milk contains extra nutrients or can solve health problems. The reality is that raw milk can cause devastating illness with long-term, disabling effects. Children and older adults are most at risk. 

This medical professional says that another prevailing myth spread by raw milk enthusiasts is that healthy animals don't carry germs that contaminate raw milk. But in her training as a vet and health investigator, Ms. Behravesh can assure people who read her commentary that  outbreaks of illness related to raw milk have been traced back to both grass-fed and grain-fed animals. Raw milk supplied by “certified,” “organic,” or “local dairies'' has no guarantee of being free of harmful pathogens that are carried benignly in the intestines and fecal matter of cows, goats, sheep and other animals. The micro-organisms can't be kept out of milk and pasteurization is the only foolproof way to kill them. 

If you or a loved one has become sick from drinking raw milk that you believed couldn't hurt you, contact a food poisoning attorney at PritzkerOlsen, P.A. at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or by completing our contact form. Our firm has filed raw milk lawsuits on behalf of many who have become seriously ill, paralyzed or ravaged in other ways from E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella, Listeria and Campylobacter.

Here's an excerpt from Ms. Behravesh's public health warning: 

"Getting sick from raw milk can mean many days of diarrhea, stomach cramping, and vomiting. Less commonly, it can mean kidney failure, paralysis, chronic disorders, and even death. The seriousness of the illness is determined by many factors, such as the type of germ, the amount of contamination, and the person’s immune defenses.

"Speaking of immune defenses… it’s important to remember that some people are at higher risk of getting sick from drinking raw milk. The risk is greater for certain age groups, such as infants, young children, and older adults. It’s also particularly risky for pregnant women (and their unborn babies) and those with weakened immune systems, such as people with cancer, an organ transplant, or HIV/AIDS.

"Though some people are at higher risk of getting sick from raw milk, even healthy adults and older children can get seriously ill. Those who recover often suffer from life-long medical consequences.  

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Health officials in Longmont, Colorado, have ordered Billy Goat Dairy to halt distribution of its raw milk products as part of an investigation into an outbreak of Campylobacter and E. coli O157:H7.

Since June 10, 16 people who reported drinking raw milk from the dairy have become ill, including two children who were hospitalized. Boulder County Public Health is reporting that one of the children remains hospitalized.

Young children are especially prone to hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) caused by infections of E. coli O157:H7 and other foodborne pathogens. More than half of children with HUS develop acute kidney failure and some may require a kidney transplant later in life. Injury from this disease can be even more far-reaching, affecting brain, heart and central nervous system functions.

To consult an E. coli lawyer about your family's legal rights in cases of HUS and foodborne illness, call law firm Pritzker Olsen at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or complete the online contact form on the side of this Web page. Our firm is a leading practitioner of food poisoning litigation and is actively involved in efforts to prevent outbreaks that cause HUS and other potentially deadly illnesses.

In the United States this year, contaminated raw milk has been associated with at least 10 outbreaks of food poisoning. In the the Billy Goat Dairy raw milk Campylobacter and E. coli outbreak, the dairy operates a goat share program in which individuals buy a share of a goat and in return receive raw, unpasteurized milk.

Lab tests have confirmed the presence of Campylobacter and E. coli 0157 in Billy Goat customers who have reported illness after drinking the product. Both types of bacteria are found in the intestines of animals and can be passed in their feces; contaminating surfaces in milking and bottling areas. 

When milk is pasteurized, these pathogens are killed. In raw milk, the organisms survive and can't be detected through eyesight, smell or taste of the product.

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The Hartmann dairy farm in Gibbon, Minnesota, has been positively identified by state officials as the source of a raw milk E. coli outbreak that has sickened at least five people, including a toddler who was hospitalized with life-threatening hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS)..

A press release from the Minnesota Department of Health said lab tests provided evidence that the same strain of E. coli O157:H7 bacteria found in the victims of this outbreak was found in multiple animals and at multiple sites on the Hartmann farm.  This strain of E. coli has not previously been found in Minnesota.

The health department also reported that cheese samples collected last week from the Hartmann farm contained another form of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, "demonstrating that an ongoing pathway of contamination existed on the farm."

State officials have embargoed dairy products on the Hartmann farm while the investigation continues. 

At least two of the Minnesota raw milk E. coli victims were young children. Kids are the most likely of any age group to develop HUS from an infection of E. coli

Now that there is solid evidence that the Hartmann dairy farm is the source of E. coli in this outbreak, the family of the HUS victim can seek compensation on behalf of their child and themselves for the medical expenses, loss of income, pain and suffering and other expenses and losses.

This is not a matter of being lawsuit happy. The financial strain on a family dealing with child HUS is so enormous that it can put a strain on relationships and may prevent a child from getting the best care both now and in the future. 

Food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen has represented children with HUS E. coli and is recognized as a national leader in foodborne illness litigation. Over the years we have collected millions for victims of food poisoning while also staying actively involved in food safety efforts to reduce and prevent dangerous outbreaks.

To understand you legal rights in regards to the Hartmann E. coli outbreak,  call an E. coli lawyer at Pritzker Olsen at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or complete the contact form on the side of this Web page.

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E. coli outbreaks linked to raw milk can be caused by unsanitary conditions that exist during the milking process.  An example of this is a 2005 E. coli outbreak linked to raw milk from a farm in Washington State. The outbreak-strain of E. coli O157:H7 was found in the farm’s raw milk and in environmental samples, including "seven environmental samples collected from the floor of the farm milking parlor," according to a CDC report on the outbreak.

Unsanitary conditions were found at the farm by state health officials investigating the outbreak:

During inspections of the farm, officials from the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) noted mud and manure accumulation in the entrance to the milking parlor and on the rubber mats covering the dirt floors of the parlor. The bucket used for milk collection had direct contact with these surfaces. Inspectors also noted inadequate hand-washing facilities and improper procedures for cleaning milking equipment and handling fresh milk.

It is critical that farmers supplying raw milk for human consumption keep milking areas impeccably clean.  If not, people may get sick.  And when elderly people and children end up on dialysis and fighting for life because they consumed raw milk, the farmers who didn't take the time to clean up the milking area should compensate those sickened and their families.

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