Pure Eire Dairy of Othello, Washington is recalling raw milk that may by contaminated with E.coli. The products under recall have an expiration date of June 8 or later. The milk was distributed throughout Eastern Washington. Consumers who have this milk should not drink it. E. coli can cause serious, life-threatening illness. In some cases, a condition called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), which leads to kidney failure can develop. Children are at special risk.
The dairy is working with state health authorities on an investigation of the outbreak and has suspended raw milk sales. It is unclear if raw milk sales will resume when the investigation is concluded.
There have been two recent foodborne illness outbreaks linked to the consumption of raw milk. At least five people in Pennsylvania have been sickened by Campylobacter in raw milk produced by Family Cow farm in Chambersburg, PA. That farm has suspended raw milk sales during the investigation. Last year, Family Cow was the source of the largest raw milk outbreak in Pennsylvania history.
In Alaska, a cow-share program on the Kenai Peninsula has been the source of two Campylobacter outbreaks in the last three months. Three dozen people have been sickened and four developed reactive arthritis, a complication that causes painful swelling in the joints.
