Raw milk products were the source of 85 percent of all food poisoning outbreaks linked to dairy products in 2013, according to report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A total of 20 dairy outbreaks were reported that year for which pasteurization information was available. Of those, 17 were linked to unpasteurized products. The other three were Listeria outbreaks linked to pasteurized soft cheeses.
Image from a recall posted by the California Department of Public Health
Campylobacter was the most common bacterial source of the raw milk outbreaks causing nine outbreaks, 114 illnesses and five hospitalizations. In the last nine months, there have been at least three Campylobacter raw milk outbreaks.
The most recent outbreak has been linked to raw goat milk from Claravale Farms. Three children, all under the age of 5, have been sickened. One of them has been hospitalized. Claravale milk and cream were recalled in March 2015 for Campylobacter after illnesses in the area were reported and also in March 2013.
In late May, several children in Montgomery and Odon, Indiana were sickened by Campylobacter in raw milk. Those children were under the age of 2.
In September, a Campylobacter outbreak in Durand, Wisc. sickened 38 people, hospitalizing 10 of them. The raw milk was served to unwitting attendees at a potluck dinner for the football team. So many of the players were sick for so long that two games had to be canceled.
