Health Law

Raw Milk Salmonella Outbreak in Utah Confirmed

By David Babcock

The Utah County Health Department (UCHD) has confirmed that six Salmonella illnesses in April were linked to raw milk sold at Real Foods stores in Orem and Heber City, Utah.  All the individuals were ill with Salmonella Newport, and each reported consuming the raw milk.   Now it is reported that UCHD tested samples of the milk from the dairy, and found Salmonella:

Six people, ages 2 to 56, were diagnosed with a specific type of salmonella called Newport in April, said Utah County Health Department spokesman Lance Madigan. Four of the cases were in Utah County, with one each in Salt Lake and Wasatch counties. When investigators went through their where-have-you-been, what-have-you-eaten studies, they found all six had consumed raw milk bought from Real Foods stores in Orem and Heber City. That led them to Redmond Farms in Sevier County, where the raw milk was produced, he said.

Real Foods and Redmond stopped selling the unpasteurized milk while the investigation was conducted. And officials found salmonella in several of the milk samples it tested that were dated between April 5 and 22.

"New" milk is apparently testing negative for the moment and is back on the shelves.  Shouldn't the grocery stores be thinking twice at this point?

Full post as published by Food Poison Blog on May 14, 2010 (boomark / email).