Salmonella Outbreak in Dallas County Collides With Raw Milk Push in Texas
Texas is poised to liberalize raw milk sales just as health officials are investigating a Dallas County raw milk Salmonella outbreak that hospitalized a 56-year-old resident after drinking unpasteurized milk.
.jpg)
Sales of raw milk and raw milk products aren't illegal in the Lone Star state currently, but you must drive to the dairy farm that produces it. Legislation pending in the state Legislature would permit wider sales and open more avenues to the products for consumers.
The Salmonella outbreak started in November and remains under investigation by the state and the Dallas County Department of Health and Human Services. According to a press release from the county, health officials have already confirmed a link between 3 illnesses and one Texas dairy farm. There have been four confirmed cases all together and the Salmonella type is described as rare.
The press release said all four cases have been linked to exposure to raw milk and three have been linked to one dairy farm. Officials didn't name the farm, but WFAA-TV of Dallas/Ft. Worth reported that state investigators were testing for Salmonella at Lavon Farms in Plano, where at leaset one of the victims allegedly purchased raw milk at the farm's on-premise store. Owner Todd Moore told WFAA-TV the farm sold thousands of gallons of raw milk and never received complaints of any illness.
The Texas raw milk Salmonella outbreak is a classic case of the tension surrounding health experts who decry the sale of unpasteurized dairy foods as a serious threat to public health and raw milk enthusiasts who are successfully pushing state legislatures to act in their favor for reasons of liberty and a false platform that raw milk provides more nutrition and builds immune systems.
Mainstream medical groups, including the leading group of pediatric physicians, and many other groups of scientists -- including government researchers and food poisoning investigators at FDA and CDC -- are all very clear on the point that raw milk can kill you or make you very sick. Children are especially vulnerable. Now Dallas County Health and Human Services Medical Director Dr. Steven Harris is urging the public to avoid consuming raw milk or raw milk products because of the risk for potentially deadly bacterial infections. Raw milk is unsafe because it harbors gastric pathogens like Salmonella, E. coli and Campylobacter. You can't smell or taste the bacteria, but it is bound to show up in raw milk via microscopic fecal contamination or directly through a cow's udders and pasteurization is needed to kill it.
National food safety law firm PritzkerOlsen, P.A., is investigating the Texas raw milk outbreak and accepting cases from those who have suffered. Our firm, at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free), is one of the very few in the country practicing extensively in the area of foodborne illness litigation, including Salmonella raw milk lawsuits. Submit our contact form and an attorney will contact you for a free case consultation.
Salmonella symptoms include nausea, vomiting, abdominal, diarrhea, fever, and headache. These acute symptoms may last for 1 or 2 days or may be prolonged depending on virulence factors. Salmonella is especially dangerous for infants, the elderly, and people with HIV or in treatment for cancer. Salmonellosis should not be taken lightly and people who suspect they have it should immediately see a doctor. In some cases there are chronic consequences. Arthritic symptoms may follow 3-4 weeks after onset of acute symptoms. One of the most severe and painful complications is reactive arthritis, or Reiter's Syndrome.
