The Washington State Departments of Health and Agriculture today released information linking recent E. coli illnesses in Washington State to raw milk produced by the Dungeness Valley Creamery in Sequim, WA.  See www.marlerblog.com.  I will point out up front that the Dungeness Valley Creamery, which appears to be where the milk was produced, is a dairy properly licensed in Washington to sell raw milk.  I would ban the sale of raw milk from any dairy in the country, personally, whether licensed or not, but that is not the point of this post.  Every time a raw milk outbreak happens, which is relatively frequently, it causes me to think how many options there really are for people who are looking to purchase the product . . . even in states that otherwise ban it.  

I talked recently in an article on foodsafetynews.com about the deceptive, transparent efforts of many unlicensed dairies to sell raw milk under the guise of cow-share agreements.  Read the article here.  First of all, these arrangements are patently illegal in most states, including Washington, and even states where the Legislature has not specifically condemned them.  Read Washington State Dept of Agriculture’s views on cow-share agreements for a perfect example.  And second, it’s really a little scary to think that, because these dairies are selling raw milk without having to meet state licensure requirements, some of them produce their product under some terrible conditions.  Continue Reading Raw Milk, and the Problem with Unlicensed Dairies