Organic Pastures raw milk sickened 5 people with E. coli O157:H7 from August through October. Three of the Organic Pastures outbreak victims developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, including two siblings from Contra Costa county. Now the State of California has lifted the quarantine on Organic Pastures’ raw product . . . except the colostrum, which is still being investigated.
According to a press release by the California Department tof Food and Agriculture:
The facility was required to meet all sanitation requirements and comply with food safety regulations under state law before the quarantine could be lifted. During the quarantine, the facility was prohibited from producing raw milk products for the retail market. The order affected milk as well as raw butter, raw cream, raw colostrum, and a raw product labeled “Qephor.” At this time, the quarantine hold on raw colostrum remains because it is the subject of continuing investigation by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA).
A bit of Organic Pastures history:
- Organic Pastures products were recalled for pathogens in 2006, 2007 and 2008. It was tied to a 2007 outbreak of Campylobacter. Most notably, it was quarantined in 2006 after six children became ill with E. coli infections – two with hemolytic uremic syndrome. This is the state report from 2006: http://www.marlerblog.com/uploads/file/legal-cases/rawmilk(1)(1)(1)(1).pdf. See also, Raw Milk Myth Buster 1 – Organic Pastures 2006 Raw Milk E. coli Outbreak was caused by Spinach.
- 2006: 3 strains of E. coli O157:H7 cultured from OPDC heifer feces – http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5723a2.htm
- 2007: 50 strains of Campylobacter jejuni plus Campylobacter coli, Campylobacter fetus, Campylobacter hyointetinalis, and Campylobacter lari cultured from OPDC dairy cow feces – http://www.marlerclark.com/pdfs/ClusterofCampylobacterinfectionsrawmilkEpi22007.pdf
- 2007: Listeria monocytogenes cultured from Organic Pastures Grade A raw cream – http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ArchiveRecalls/2005/ucm112271.htm
- 2008: Campylobacter cultured from Organic Pastures Grade A raw cream – http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/egov/Press_Releases/Press_Release.asp?PRnum=08-061
For more about the risks of raw milk, see Real Raw Milk Facts Dot Com.