The owners of a farm linked to a raw milk Campylobacter outbreak that sickened dozens of students and coaches who attended a football banquet in Durand, Wisconsin agreed to have their Grade A permit suspended for 30 days, but deny their milk was the source of the outbreak.
Last week, the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection’s (DATCP) announced the farm’s permit would be suspended for 30 days because of its link to the outbreak. The farm must abide by terms of an agreement with the ag department or face further penalties.
Roland and Diana Reed pleaded no contest to a charge of distributing unpasteurized milk and maintain that outbreak was caused by other food served at the banquet. But health officials say the outbreak strain found in stool samples taken from those who became ill is a genetic match to the strain found in samples collected from the Reed’s farm.
The Reeds sell there milk to a local cheese maker and are not purveyors of raw milk. But, for a potluck dinner for the football team they brought raw milk and did not tell everyone it was unpasteurized.
Thirty eight people got Campylobacter infections. Ten of them were hospitalized.
