Another Recall At OPDC--Wishing for Clear Thinking on Both Sides; Shifting Media Focus?
The West Coast people got a little bit of a head start in discussing the recall of Organic Pastures Dairy Co.’s products (following my previous post). A recall, and quarantine, was ordered by the California Department of Food and Agriculture, alleging that campylobacter was found in a sample of OPDC cream, and that at least ten people became ill as a result earlier this year.
Mark McAfee, the owner of OPDC, stated in an email, "The recall press release is written in a very misleading way. The detection of campylobacter in one sample of cream was not connected to any illnesses. Any readers of this recall would be led to assume that there were ten illnesses associated with OPDC products. This is a completely misleading conclusion. Those loosely associated cases were four months ago...No finger prints matching anything at OPDC."
It’s impossible to tell from the press release if any kind of genetic link was made between the campylobacter found at OPDC and the ten people the CDFA says were sickened by OPDC milk.
My feeling, and the feeling of many other raw milk advocates, is that OPDC should be treated the same as any business serving the public whose food is found to be contaminated. If OPDC has a chronic contamination problem, or has become too large to reliably produce safe milk, then it needs to do what is required to correct the problem. Part of what’s unclear at this point is whether OPDC is getting the same treatment.
The CDFA press release states, “From January through April 30, 2012, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) reports that at least ten people with campylobacter infection were identified throughout California and reported consuming Organic Pastures raw milk prior to illness onset.”
Possibly the state hadn’t yet had a chance to make the comparison of the campylobacter found in the OPDC cream with the samples found in the ten people who got sick, and was forcing the recall out of an abundance of caution? Maybe there wasn’t a match? Maybe there was a match in some of the individuals and not in others?
Whatever the situation, the state should have been clear. Given the number of raw milk customers in California, and the emotion around the issue of raw milk availability, it is as incumbent on the state to take care as it is on OPDC to produce a safe product. The stakes are too high for all concerned.
As Ron Klein suggests in his comment following my previous post, another part of the challenge here is a willingness by food rights advocates to stand up to the reality that some dairy producers may not be doing what is required to produce a safe product. “There is a lot at stake in the fundamental questions surrounding food rights. Unless this ‘movement’ addresses in a systematic and responsible manner how to provide a clean and safe product, educate consumers and helps those affected by regulatory over reach or contaminated products--there is no hope.”
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There have been some surprisingly fair appraisals of the conflict over raw milk of late. America’s Test Kitchen has about a twenty-minute “debate” about raw milk (including comments from me), which starts about 14 min 30 sec into the segment. And Fox News NY has about an eight-minute segment on the crackdown on raw milk. Both segments are quite lengthy by major radio and television outlet standards. There’s also an excellent segment featuring one of the Minnesota moms being targeted by the state’s agriculture department (as described in my previous two posts), on the Josh Trolley show.
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For those following state legislative initiatives on the raw milk front, the Real Raw Milk Facts site, despite its anti-raw-milk tone, has done an excellent job of collecting up-to-date information on what's happening, including links to proposed legislation in various states.
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I'm told the Food Rights Workshop in Minneapolis has a few spaces for last-minute attendees at the afternoon session tomorrow (Sunday); the dinner has been sold out.
This site's mission is to provide news and analysis about food rights and raw milk. Increasingly, our access to privately available food is under attack by government and industry forces that seek to impose their choices on us. The Complete Patient seeks to provide up-to-date information and encourage the development of community to maintain traditional food acquisition options.
It is not typical that there is a genetic link before a recall. It's not clear to me why that's the apparent new standard. In California it is illegal for Mark's product to have campy in it. Had the campy been found in the cream without a trail of illnesses, the state would have recalled the cream, as it did in Sep of 2008. Given the ten campy illnesses of the OPDC customers, the state took more drastic measures. It will be interesting to see whether their follow up measures are limited to getting a clean batch in the next round of testing or doing the whole environmental bit.
It's interesting that these illnesses reach back into the period where Claravale was fingered by some customers. First, what a vastly different response by the two dairies. Second, maybe it wasn't Claravale product after all that made those customers sick...
I'm trying to understand why campylobacter always ends up in the cream at OPDC? Does the separation process have something to do with it, or perhaps a lack of dissolved oxygen in the lipid phase of the milk?
Bill,
The 2008 cream recall obviously implicated OPDC cream but there was also the 2007 outbreak which hasn't been widely publicized -- there was no recall in that case. In the 2007 case I believe milk was part of the product mix, but also something like 30% of the cows tested had campy in their stools, so OPDC obviously has campy. Maybe it's just easier to isolate in cream, maybe it's all chance, maybe a herd share owner spiked the cream samples.
Thinking about all this campy, in 2007 there was an outbreak with no illnesses but with a genetic match between a customer and the dairy, in 2008 there was a recall with no illnesses, and now there are both illnesses and a recall. We'll see what resources the state uses to find a match. With no hospitalizations, they may not do as much testing as with the E. coli cases.
Amanda
Which year was he outsourcing his cream?
Do mean the listeria cream? That was Sep of 2007 and purchased from a milk broker. Or do you mean how long is the confirmed outsourcing history? I guess his drivers found out about it in 2005, but Mark has confirmed the outsourcing here on this website from 2006-2009. The 2007 campy DNA match was found among the OPDC herd, as was the various campy strains in 30% of the herd at the dairy itself. I'm not aware of an outsourced dairy being tested in any of these recalls.
hmm.... listeria is also a faculative anaerobe, so there may be a pattern here.
For some reason I remember another instance of campy being found in cream. That is definetly something that would warrent more investigation. I'm going to guess it has to do with the reduced dissolved oxygen levels in cream.
We know from the science of pasteurization that high-solids milk (such as heavy cream, concentrated skim milk, ice cream mix, etc...) tends to have a protective effect on bacterial survival. That is why those products have higher time/temperature requirements under the PMO than normal whole and skim milk.
It seems than a similair principle may be applicable to biological methods of pathogen control in raw milk production -- higher solids tends to have a protective effect on the pathogen's survival. I'd love to be proven wrong on this, but so far the antectodal evidence suggests this would be the case.
So many recalls, so many pathogens, so much outsourcing, it is hard to keep it all straight.
yeah, your pain body is glorying it all, too, isn't it. Ever hear of Opee? That's the god to whom the American Indians sacficied ... they stake out white captives in the hot sun, and torture them to death ... they're rationale being : by placating Opee with pain from some other source, he wouldn't come 'round and bother them. In modern America, the mainstream media serve are the high priests in that religion
it's not within their job description to report that, in the midst of the latest confusion - and let's make sure you realize there is no real evidence of harm from OPD - in which a gnat was supposedly found in a bulk milk tank, millions of people are drinking REAL MILK and are healthier for it.
http://www.ohio.edu/orgs/glass/vol/1/14.htm
Never heard of any Native American 'God' named Opee...couldn't find it with google either. Do you have a link? Torturing amongst the Native Americans was usually due to mourning and/or revenge.
the family of Richard Kelly Hoskins has been in Virginia since it was founded. In his book 'War Cycles Peace Cycles", he relates some of the history of the Indian wars. Not for nothing were they called "savages" . Of course his books are categorized as "hate speech" because they provide evidence of a religious doctrine which is 180 degrees at odds with the Central Party Line. You ask his neighbour, Joel Salatin to tell you about Richard Hoskins. Hoskins is very good on the eternal antagonism between true agrarians, versus the usury money power.
Do you have a link to what I asked for?
More disgusting racism from Gordon Watson.
Please everyone, google "Richard Kelly Hoskins" and find out for yourselves the truth about this evil man. Among other things, Hoskins advocates for the formation of an army of theocratic white supremacist thugs.
A person can be against usury without embracing the theocratic & racist vision of Gordon Watson.
the morality of usury is directly on-point this Campaign for REAL MILK. One of the fatal flaws in the Marxist model of industrial-ized agriculture is that such CAFOs are designed to be ultimately controlled by a central bank = exactly as we find the situation today in Ham-merica.
As for Hoskins : I sure do hope you find out what he has to say, rather than what his critics say about him. You'll learn some authentic American history, rather than the 'политкорректность' Politically -correct fables told today.
Watson-
If you'd bother to study the early socialist literature, you'd find that usury was a major topic. In particular, Proudhon, a REAL libertarian AND a socialist, focused on usury as it applied to farmers (as well as other capitalist/authoritarian institutions such as landlordism, wage-labor, etc...)
Unfortunately for you and your ideology, Watson, industrialized agriculture was a creation of the Western industrial revolution, and not the Russian (late-comers to industrialism) so-called "socialism." Marx merely pointed out that capital would create this kind of agriculture. It is an unfortunate legacy of state-socialism that the Bolsheviks played the role of the bourgeoisie in Russia, by taking them through the industrial revolution.
There is a good reason that I reject Bolshevism. There are plenty of more democratic, libertarian, and green socialist traditions, outside of the narrow Marxist-Lenninist model.
Why didn't they test the outsourced dairies?
"OTHER UNBRANDED RAW MILK PRODUCTS"
Is Mark throwing California herd shares under the bus once again?
McAfee said at the time he cooperated with the testing at his dairy but was convinced his milk did not make the children sick. He suspects that the children may have consumed other unbranded raw milk products.
http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/05/10/v-textonly/2833085/state-recalls-pro...
Yeah, I saw that last night and shook my head....
I saw that too. He also says he tests his milk 12 times a day.
I thought after the last issue with OPDC they cleaned up a bunch of stuff and were then cleared by the State inspectors? There is either a big piece of this puzzle missing, or NO ONE knows for sure what's going on. Sounds to me like the State is just taking pot shots with no real evidence.
Or is it a case of too much sh*t and not a big enough shovel?
"My feeling, and the feeling of many other raw milk advocates, is that OPDC should be treated the same as any business serving the public whose food is found to be contaminated."
Would that be the way a big business is treated, or a small one? Judging by some of his comments about OPDC, about the state, about RAWMI, about small real milk dairies (according to the Fresno Bee link above, he's at it again), and about food relocalization in general, McAfee wants this double standard to continue, and merely wants to corporatize raw milk within that framework.
Therefore, for example, the government should "work with" OPDC every time it screws up (if that's what's happening, as opposed to it being state persecution on flimsy evidence), while a small producer with allegations against him should be shut down.
But so far all his appeasement rhetoric doesn't seem to be helping him.
I know someone who came down with campylobacter during that period in CA. They did not speak with the public health department, so there is at least one case where they don't have any info as to a possible source, much less a statement that raw dairy was even consumed. Public health departments have lost a lot of people's trust because of a number of issues, not just raw dairy.
Karen, you are absolutely correct. There is an absence of accountability that leads inevitably to arrogance. Who wants to trust public officials who have little or no respect for people's private food choices?
David
“Whatever the situation, the state should have been clear. Given the number of raw milk customers in California, and the emotion around the issue of raw milk availability, it is as incumbent on the state to take care as it is on OPDC to produce a safe product. The stakes are too high for all concerned.”
I agree, however I think most of us can agree that state officials have gone out of their way to manipulate the public, that they lack integrity and that their actions are often not motivated for food safety or human health reasons.
I guess the sixty-four dollar question is, why is there a lack of clarity?
Is it because they are merely grasping at straws or are they deliberately manipulating people in real life situations in order to nurture fear, anger and division?
Ken
I think there is a lack of clarity when there is a lack of evidence. The CDFA didn't make a genetic linkage between the campylobacter found in the Organic Pastures cream and the campylobacter found in people who got sick because there was no linkage.
There is also something to your suggestion that CDFA is "deliberately manipulating people in real life situations in order to nurture fear, anger and division..." As one example, the circumstances of the campylobacter problems at Organic Pastures are strikingly similar to those of Claravale, announced by CDFA last March. In its press release then, the CDFA said, " No illnesses have been definitively attributed to the (Claravale) products at this time. However, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) is currently conducting an epidemiological investigation of reported clusters of campylobacter illness where consumption of raw milk products may have occurred."
http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/egov/press_releases/Press_Release.asp?PRnum=12-008
In the current situation involving Organic Pastures, the CDFA said in its press release, "From January through April 30, 2012, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) reports that at least 10 people with campylobacter infection were identified throughout California and reported consuming Organic Pastures raw milk prior to illness onset."
http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/egov/press_releases/Press_Release.asp?PRnum=12-018
"Deliberately manipulating"? You be the judge.
They only just got a positive result. It takes longer to get information about the strain. A match also requires that there be strain information on the patients and that's less likely to be the case in non-hospital campy cases. If we are going to expect a linkage, we have to be realistic of the real-world circumstances surrounding the data collection.
As I see it, the state went to OPDC on May 1 fishing for campy in the products and they found it. In Nov/Dec, they went fishing for e. coli and found more than one strain. I don't know that there is evidence tying OPDC to this illness cluster or if there is evidence that the CDFA is manipulating the public, but I look at the data and see strong evidence for my "get a goat" philosophy.
Amanda
"Get a goat"... or raw milk cheese.
Goat milk
I’ve never been able to acquire a taste for goat’s milk, so I will continue drinking my sweet 6% raw jersey milk including the wealth of organisms that are in it.
For those who want to trust regulators and their flawed idea of good health then by all means go ahead. Their shenanigans have given me ample reason to distrust them.
My one recommendation for people who want to avoid the ravages of a ubiquitous organism is to avoid the medical profession and their invasive vaccines and drugs, as well as the many chemicals pedaled on the market today in order to placate our controlling and impatient nature.
Ken
Ken-
Goat milk has a smaller and delicate butter globule, that is more susceptible to rancidity upon rough handling, such as the CIP pump (also used for pumping milk) in most pipeline milking systems.
However, when handled properly, goat milk (and its resulting cheese) has an exquisite flavor. You probably just haven't tasted a good example. Many people are biased against goat milk because of a few bad experiences. Unfortunately, our American dairy industry hasn't put much effort into this area. In France, its a different story... though there are a few small artisan American goat dairys who know how to do it right.
I was suggesting that CDFA clarify the situation. Say its lab hasn't yet completed the analysis to determine if there's a match. Or say it hasn't been able to obtain the strain info on patients (though I would think much of that would be available, since the ten cases it alludes to are presumably confirmed via lab tests). If it did try to make a match, and wasn't successful, report that, and say that it went ahead with the recall based on epidemiological conclusions. It has done none of these things--said only that OPDC caused the ten cases of campylobacter-- leading conspiratorial minds to wander... Sorry, "trust us" may have been okay at one time, but times have changed, and for the worse.
Those are details that go into the report which usually takes a couple of months. Like it or not, that's how these things tend to go in California. It also does take more time to get the DNA fingerprint than a positive test. Sick consumers and campy in the product is more than enough for a recall. I guess with Mark's statement that there should be a DNA match before a recall, everyone's just inclined to take that tack too. Mark says, "Trust me."
two incidents are the baseline for the pattern undeniably emerging = a textbook example of the drive-by smear. One more "guilt-by-association" false alarm meida reliease, insinuating customers of raw milk dairies got sick from the milk - WHEN THEY DIDN'T - and the Cal. health authorities can be dismissed for keeps, as 'the Boy Who Cried Wolf'... Just one of so many instances when mendacious meddling bureaucrats undermine public confidence in govt., at all
Sue the pricks for abuse of process
everyone,
I need to clarify an inaccurate statement I made the other day about 14 samples of Raw Cream that were taken for testing by Department of Public Health. These 14 samples did not get tested at the same time that CDFA sent in their tests. I learned at a hearing on Friday that CDPH did submit those 14 samples of raw cream to their lab...it was the lab that was backed up and could not process the samples. So it was not a CDPH intentional delay of testing. It was a lab back up that caused the delay.
Also....interesting to note that preliminary test results just came back from CDPH today. 6 of those cream samples tested positive for campy and the other 8 were negative. Very interesting information.
During the my requested hearing with CDFA on Friday, one of the doctors with DPH reported some of the details and facts that surround this recall and also the events of the last 4 months.
The State of CA has placed all raw milk under intensive enhanced surveilance. The doctor said that their large numbers of Campylobacter cases that they just do not address. There are so many of them, but they do watch the ones that are linked by consumer interviews to raw milk...( we are so very special!! ).
If a consumer reports drinking raw milk in CA, that information goes directly into the PULSENET database and this information is reviewed routinely to see what comes up. Statistically speaking about 500-1000 cases of campyloacter are experienced everyday in CA ( CDC says that 2-4 million cases occur each year in the US...I divided the total by the population to get the CA number ). CA says that they have 16 cases per day that they process according to their database. That means they ignore some huge amount everyday...but not those that are reported from raw milk!!!
There has been no gentic links found between any reported cases of campylobacter. There have been no reported positive raw milk samples from those that drank raw milk. All cases involved raw milk and not raw cream.
Now for the juicy part. CDPH reported at the hearing on Friday that 31 cases of Campylobacter were recieved and processed by CDPH from consumers that reported to their doctors or other investigators that had drank raw milk between January 1st and April 30th 2012. 18 reported drinking Claravale, 10 reported drinking OPDC and 3 reported drinking some other source of raw milk ( and would not name the source ).
None reported drinking raw cream. None of the raw milks producted during this period every tested positive for campylobacter. It has been raw cream.
Can any of you science buffs tell us what the heck is going on here. The bacteria counts in the raw cream sample taken by CDFA and DPH had a coliform of less than 1 and an SPC of less than 2500 ( the lowest count that is reported ). This was extremely clean raw cream.
What I am I seeing.....fascinating. Claravale had never had a campylobacter and OPDC had never had a campylobacter ever found until the passage of Ab 1735 and the less than 10 coliform standard. Now with Claravale and OPDC scrabbling to be super duper clean....we start seeing campy.
Just an observation. We know so little....but we test so much. campy is not a coliform. perhaps coliforms inhibit campy....god knows. I know that coliforms produce colicins which inhibite some forms of pathogens. We are testing using the BARDOT technology at UC Merced, this technology that maps all bacteria including campy. Maybe we will have a "test and hold" program soon with anything positive going to cheese.
With all of this focus and perspiration...there is bound to be some inspiration to end this exaspiration.
Our products should be back on shelves next week....if all goes as we think it will. But perhaps our milk is too clean and I am all wrong.
Creation of a vacuum in nature begs something take up that space.
Are we all that stupid? or is it just plain arrogance to think that mankinds regulatory definition of clean also....means SAFE. Perhaps the CDFA definition of SAFE that was passed secretly into law under Ab 1735 with "the less than 10 coliform standard"....does not stand up the test of time and the final measure against the test of the truth of mother nature. The positive test of raw creams was perfect under the code. It was the classic AB 1735 clean and safe raw dairy product.
Seems like we are getting better and smarter every day....or perhaps not. Perhaps we are just getting more conscious about the fact that we do not know much at all.
One thing for sure....campylobacter is no enemy of life. It is part of it. We just need to become immune and move on. Life in a Bubble is a Life in Trouble.
Mark
6/12 sample positive. That sure is a different story than you've told to your Facebook crowd. Post an update for them especially since you told them to keep drinking the rest of the product line. It's all conspiratorial until someone ends up with reactive arthritis. Be responsible here, Mark.
P.S. Your product is not "clean" if it has campy in it. If your customers want the campy, that's a different matter, but your marketing materials don't seem focused to that radical crowd.
That should be 6/14 (6 out of 14)
As a cheese maker, I wouldn't be all that concerned if there was a little campy in the milk. The cheese making process will kill it without a doubt. That's the beauty of raw milk cheese.
Right, Bill, and yet we are talking about a product line being sold to make homemade infant formula.
I worked for several years as a cheese monger. I distinctly recall an experience with a French tourist visiting Wisconsin. He spent about 5 minutes just staring at our case of soft-ripened cheese, so I offered him a sample of our most expensive imported French Brie. He laughed at me and said, "That's the cheese we feed to babies to get them used to the flavor of cheese."
That was sure an eye-opener!
Americans would do well to learn from the French... besides the fact that they just gave Sarkozy (and the other austerity-mongers) the boot, the French also consume more dairy products per capita than just about any nation on earth (save, what? Greece and Switzerland? both considerably smaller nations...)
I'll never forget it -- "That's the cheese we feed to babies to get them used to the flavor of cheese."
btw... It was Brie de Meaux, or actually "Fromage" de Meaux, the pastuerized version of Brie de Meaux for export to the US. In France, I can only imagine that they are feeding the real stuff to their babies.
Bill, there were a few eyes that rolled when certain individuals found out that I was feeding raw milk mixed with raw honey to the twins who were born premature and weighed between 4-5 pounds. The twins are now 24 years of age and have not ever seen a doctor.
Ken
When we lived in Germany in the 70s & 80s we were cautioned about consuming raw milk because of history of tuberculin cows. No one ever mentioned avoiding cheeses, my son was born there. The quality of cheeses seemed higher there, than here in the US. The majority of US cows live in appalling conditions and are fed atrociously, which most likely leads to a poor quality product.
Campylobacter?
Good luck with your attempt to try and prevent this organism from getting into your food!
Notice that the following article suggests the spraying of lactic acid on carcasses as a control measure.
http://www.essaycoursework.com/modelanswer/sciences/essays/campylobacter...
“Watkins (2003) proposes different infection levels with reports of as many as 1,000 in 100,000 in developed countries with even higher rates in developing countries.”
“The question posed in the title was: How does such a sensitive organism [as C. jejuni] cause so much disease?”
“ A summary of relevant information presented thus far provides a foundation upon which a response to the question can be formulated.
C. jejuni is truly a sensitive organism. A review of the literature revealed that the bacteria’s ability to exist outside of a narrow range of temperature, oxygen, and other conditions is poor. The optimal conditions for growth of C. jejuni include temperatures between 37 and 42 degrees Centigrade and less than five percent oxygen. Ironically, it is just these features that render C. jejuni such a serious problem. With a temperature of approximately 37 degrees Centigrade and a low level of oxygen, the human gastrointestinal system provides ideal conditions for C. jejuni to thrive.
So, in response to the question posed, the sensitive C. jejuni bacteria cause so much disease in humans because humans serve as ideal hosts.”
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC286345/
“Despite the health impact of these enteropathogenic bacteria, their epidemiology remains poorly understood, and the full epidemiological pathways leading to infection in humans have not yet been elucidated.”
“Furthermore, due to their ability to fly freely and to cover long distances during annual movements, wild-living birds are suspected of functioning as effective dispersers of disease via the aforementioned fecal contamination of pastures and surface waters throughout the world.”
“Seagulls in particular, due to their scavenging feeding habits, are one of the most documented carriers of Campylobacter and Salmonella.”
It’s not uncommon to see seagulls sharing the pasture with cattle at a ratio of seagulls to cattle as high as if not higher then 10:1 especially after a rain.
You folks probably wouldn’t have a clue the number of times I’ve been shit on by a seagull doing fieldwork. At times their numbers can be so great that they become discombobulated while flying and some end up gong through the haybine.
Ken Conrad
And yet, Ken, Mark's marketing materials claim that his milk kills pathogens. Remember the urban legend about the BSK study where Mark had his milk inoculated with pathogens and they were all killed? (And remember that the actual lab report shows they weren't killed?)
You can't have it both ways -- that raw milk is uniquely safe and, oh except when it's not and in that case, you're a big scaredy-cat for worrying about campylobacter because it's all over the place.
Mark developed a market here in California among people feeding his product line to their babies. How many of them would not wash seagull crap off their baby and just let that baby wallow in it? For those in the "wash crap off baby" camp, how many of them really know that Mark's milk might actually have a pathogen in it and that they really should instead be networking for human donor milk? Not many because, well, all the cool people say that raw milk is uniquely safe.
Actually, the "uniquely safe" argument may be soooo 2010 and sooo Fallon and Beals. Now it's "you're more likely to get hit by a bus...." The fact is that human milk for babies here in California is the equivalent of a Britax car seat in a Volvo. Mark is encouraging his moms to send their babies hang-gliding instead so that he can fuel his private plane.
That is not cool.
Amanda Rose ; as for the sneer at Dr Beals' credibility : please contact Miss Hughes at the Legal Services Branch of the Attorney General of British Columbia. She has conduct of the Crown's oppositon to our Constitutional Challenge to the regulation outlawing raw milk for human consumption. I'm sure she'd love to have you put in an Affidavit in support of their position. So far, the only evidence is that of Dr Ted Beals. It will be amusing to see your curriculum vitae = how it stacks up against his = as to your expertise on pathology plus a few other fields in which he's received by Courts as an expert
the Affidavit of Dr T Beals is on my website
< http://www.freewebs.com/bovinity/evidenceofexperts.htm >
starting about halfway down the page
Gordon,
My Ph.D. is in the social scientists and I've never pretended to be a raw milk expert. Beals is out of his area on this issue too, at least on the competitive exclusion issue I referenced.
Amanda
Imagine my comment in its edited version.
AMEN. That is all. Happy Mothers Day, y'all!
Ken,
In the context of microbial communities, imbalances happen. And, not all bacteria are the same. Pathogens live in the microbial community, but carry genes that encode virulence factors. The other bacteria in the community do not carry these genes. Not all bacteria are created equal. When Campylobacter, pathogenic E. coli , Salmonella dominate (oversimplified) the microbial community in the gut, bad things happen to the host. Mary Martin has described some of those bad things.
Chemicals and modern medicine may contribute, but are not the only explanation for why this imbalance happens. The pathogens are *not* ubiquitous bacteria floating around - they are dangerous, rare, and represent an imbalance in the human gut community. With all due respect, its not as simple as you think. For this reason, excellent dairy heard health and impeccable hygiene is needed when producing raw milk, a food uniquely vulnerable to overgrowth of pathogens (bacteria that have virulence factors) when the system is out of balance.
MW
Mw
I’ve always maintained that microbiological processes are very complex yet oversimplified by many who have a tendency to compartmentalize bacteria and focus on and adopt invasive and destructive methods in their attempt to control.
The discovery of virulence factors has been an impressive eye opener and one of many to come.
As far as it giving humans an edge in their attempt for ultimate control of bacteria, dream on.
What seems to keep cropping up when one reads about ongoing microbiological research is that our current knowledge is “in its infancy”, or that “little is known” about the mechanisms by which a pathogen causes serious disease in humans. Yet there are those who would have us think that they are “in the know” with respect to their ability to exploit such organisms and can therefore dictate a course of action.
“Although Campylobacter jejuni is a leading cause of food-borne illness, little is known about the mechanisms by which this pathogen causes serious diarrhoeal disease in humans and animals.”
http://journals.lww.com/revmedmicrobiol/Abstract/2008/01000/The_virulenc...
“Very little is known about the pathogenicity mechanisms and virulence factors of this important enteropathogen.”
http://www.gutpathogens.com/content/2/1/22
Ken
This is an important discussion and deserves a longer reply than I have time for. I think it is important to carefully distinguish between there being ". . . (very) little is known about the pathogenicity mechanisms and virulence factors . . ." and potential exposure to particular disease causing organisms. Such statements-are relative to the level of understanding a particular researcher seeks. Most of the gaps in understanding are at the molecular level and theninteractions thereof with a host are really just being understood at that level. Mechanisms and virulence factors specific to an organism are different from exposure or ingestion of enough "bugs' to cause disease. (Complicated by an huge increase in numbers of those imunocompromised.)
The goal of appropriate sanitation through handling protocols and procedure is to knock down the level of contaminants and reduce exposure/dose levels.
I agree with Ron.
The fact that humans have limited knowledge about how pathogens cause disease is not an excuse for poor hygiene when producing food for sale to the public (even if you call yourself a "private club" you are selling to people outside of your immediate circle of friends and family).
However, one thing we do know with a fair amount of certainty is that the process of lactic acid fermention, when performed with a relatively rapid and controlled drop in pH, combined with the aging of cheese, has a powerful selective effect against pathogens that can be found in raw milk.
I don't have any qualms about drinking raw milk personally, being a healthy 27 year old... but if I were going to feed raw milk to a baby I'd feed it in the form of cheese.
Besides, cheese has more flavor potential and is more shelf-stable than fluid raw milk.
MW, your version of pathogenesis is incomplete at best. It does not answer, for example, why a so-called pathogen proliferates suddenly, or why it does not produce a uniform effect on all hosts. The latter is an especially poignant question when considering fluid products like raw milk, where microbial distribution is virtually uniform.
Acknowledging that imbalances “happen” and then hurriedly moving on to identify a particular bacteria or strain of bacteria for extermination, is simply not helpful; more likely that sort of thinking is damaging. What factors in the biologic chain---microbial, fungal, mineral; soil, plant, and animal---are at work to cause imbalances? Those pathways are critical to our understanding of health, but as Ken points out, they are at present virtually invisible to us. They will remain so until we pull back from our glass-darkly microscopes and broaden our view of the world.
The microscope trains us to be both near-sighted and vastly over-confident. We would do better by honing and trusting more our macrobiologic observation skills, like some farmers who fortified and embellished their soils with organic matter hundreds and even thousands of years ago, without even a glimmer of microbiological knowledge.
Endlessly noting the result of “bad things” as Mary does, is also unhelpful to the cause of good health since it merely pushes us to grab the nearest gun and start firing. Well, right now the nearest gun is is faulty. Understanding Mary's pain is important, but looking narrowly at it, as if through a microscope, will cause far more pain than it cures.
You say, “its not as simple as you think,” But you are content then to proceed using today's greatly over-simplified health strategy. That is the definition of overconfidence!
Happy Mother's day everyone. Not only to our human mothers (who are very important!) but also to our "foster mothers of the human race" -- the dairy cow.
Interesting fact about the history of the holiday in the US. The original Mother's Day holiday was proposed by Julia Ward Howe in 1870. Howe is also famous for writing the lyrics to the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" in November of 1861, in the midst of the civil war. She was also a lifelong suffragist and abolitionist. Another interesting fact about Howe -- In the 1840's she wrote a book of fiction (uncompleted) called "The Hermaphrodite" that questioned patriarchal gender roles.
The original purpose of Mother's Day was as a call for world peace:
http://www.wagingpeace.org/articles/0000/1870_howe_mothers-day.htm
There is little doubt in my mind that if Howe were alive today, she would be a socialist.
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY.
The last few days I have been reading the comments and shaking my head. Same old story—it is never the milk or the dairy that is responsible for illnesses, especially when it comes to OPDC. And then comes the spin.
Mark’s warrior words are hurting him. I wonder if he has ever once thought about the consequences of his actions. He is not a victim. He is creating the reaction. It is no wonder that CDFA and/or public health employees come to the farm with a bullet proof vest.
"Let me be very clear....
I am not a pacifist and there is a tipping point at which activism and defense of the rights of my home, my food, my freedom and my family takes precidence (sic) over peaceful politically appropriate action with cameras and playing along while you get raped...
Another Wounded Knee, Ruby Ridge or Waco could easily happen in America because of police abuse, massive unemployment, corruption, Wall Street rip offs, denial of the right to food etc...
I also believe that each and every mentally and emotionally stable free American should know how to shoot and shoot well and that those Americans that choose to do so should own a gun and appreciate its place in history and freedom. On of my fondest memories was visiting Switzerland in 1983 and seeing a youth with a machine gun on his back going to the shooting range on a moped. I thought to myself....no body will ever mess with his rights. Homes in Switzerland have huge machine SIG guns and everyone knows how to use them. There is little violence in that land and the crime rate is nill. Cops thoughtfully enter homes after asking politely and do not brandish weapons like Miami Vice..."
I shoot and own guns....but you will never see them displayed or used against cops or any person. Until the tipping point. At that point my life is then the value which must be laid down in the balance and it is worth giving in trade. . . . Remember, those that live by the sword can also die by it. If you raise a gun in anger expect to pay a dear price at some point.
I think it is important to put all behavior within a context. Based on the public statements Mark makes, maybe this is why authorities who deal with him use caution. This murder of regulators happened in California. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuart_Alexander_(businessman_and_murderer)
No doubt Claravale was treated differently. They voluntarily shut down their business as soon as they were informed by customers that there was a cluster of illnesses that all consumed their milk and worked closely with CDFA and public health to find the problem. Their behavior elicited a different response from everyone involved.
Mark always talks about Karma. You get what you give.
http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/05/publishers-platform-did-you-know-s...
Mary,
One cannot appreciate Mark's penchant for guns unless you understand his family history as left-wing activists for social justice.
You see, when he was in grade school, Mark's family received death threats from the local right-wing rednecks, because his dad bailed a falsely accused Black Panther out of jail. The rednecks fired shots into the barn one morning while they were milking the cows, and poisoned the cow's water. Mark and his mom had to go into hiding while his father defended the farm.
Here's the full story:
http://books.google.com/books?id=d1IEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA73&lpg=PA73&dq=the+co...
"Remember, those that live by the sword can also die by it. If you raise a gun in anger expect to pay a dear price at some point."
So you're saying that's what these governments, these police forces, these corporations, the 1%, have coming?
Bankers, Governments, and their Citizens!!!
http://www.davidicke.com/images/stories/May20124/flogging_of_a_slave.jpg
I watched a few of those shows about preppers. I don't see anything wrong with being prepared, I don't understand their notifying the world of what all they do have, including all or any weapons. They've shown the world what they have and have opened themselves to potential thievery and harm. Guess it was their 15 minutes of fame?
Angela Davis is supposedly no longer a Communist, she helped found the Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism. As for Mark's 'upbringing', I'd not forgive anyone who put my kids in harms way in the manner that his dad did. A shame he didn't consider his family. Mark has stated that his family comes first, a vast difference from his dad. I don't see him doing the same as his dad. Yes, he is....what's the word I want..... flamboyant and passionate, I'd be surprised if he truly put his family in harms way.
Yes, if one fights for freedom and in reaction to that fascists attack one's family, it's the freedom fighter who really "put his family in harm's way" and should be condemned. Got it.
We might as well pack it in and get to practicing our "Heil Monsanto".
Mark's dad was smart enough to know that the potential backlash would put his family in danger. Shame on him. He was also smart enough to make a plan to keep them safe, he did not do that. Per mark's own words; his dad "took them to Cuba, Mexico and communist Algeria, sinking their boat in the Adriatic Sea. 1969, worked their way from one kibbutz to the other,lovely war torn Israel and Arab nations and oppressors of the Palestinians."Unbeknownst to his wife he snuck "off with Mark to Cyprus to meet with Syrian intelligence officers." When he returned to northern Israel several days later, his kibbutz hat was merely a cover. "He drove to every military outpost that Israel had in the desert. He memorized how many tanks, how many personnel, how many checkpoints and then reported everything back to the Syrians," Darlene recalled. "put up his family's 400 acres as collateral to bail her out of jail. He showed up the next day on national TV with cow dung on his boots. "When 'Good Morning America' and the others started calling, I pleaded with him. 'Rodger, just don't tell them you're a Communist,' " Darlene said. "But he went right on TV and told everyone, 'I did it for my sister. For my fellow Communist.' ' Overnight, the McAfees became pariahs in the farm belt. Mark, a sixth grader, was milking cows early one morning when he heard gunshots hit a barn. Nine of their cows were poisoned with strychnine. He and his brothers were escorted off school grounds to the shouts of "Goodbye Commies." As they drove to town one evening, a bale of hay fell off a farm vehicle and landed in the road. The brakes locked up, and the car flipped over. David, the youngest horn player, the star Balkan dancer, not a scratch on his face, was dead. The mechanic told Rodger that the brakes had been tampered with."
Yeah, he endangered his family on numerous occasions. Freedom fighter? Irresponsible. If you're going to fight and you know there are going to be ugly repercussions you remove your family to safety, especially the young children. The world didn't revolve around just him.
ever read the Declaration of Independence? .... affixing their signatures, they put their lives and sacred honor on the line for their principles. Now safely a couple of centuries away from being called to make that kind of decision ... I guess we know better = taking a stand for principle in the face of apparently overwhelming force, is irresponsible. [ and for those who are 'hard-of-thinking', this is sarcasm ]
Thanks Sylvia ; I feel so much better now ... convinced to " stop worrying and love Big Brother". You're welcome in Canada, anytime, where thousands of colonists who, at the time, felt as you do, and fled that contest. What Liberty you still enjoy, today, was bought and payed for in blood sweat and tears, by those who did not.
ever read the Declaration of Independence? . Yes I have, I even have an ancestor who is a signer.
"Yeah, he endangered his family on numerous occasions."
I'd say the scum who attacked his family endangered his family.
It's not generally my practice to blame the victims of aggression. I suppose Vernon Hershberger and other milk farmers are also endangering their families. They ought to look to their children's financial futures, no? (Not to mention a close friend who home-schools and therefore doesn't need any extra confrontation with the system, but who is nevertheless passionate about the milk movement. Yes, she's very "irresponsible", and is indeed running a risk.) From the system point of view, any kind of defiance of corporations and government is the height of "irresponsibility".
If you say so Russ.
Well, admittedly as a "Mama", I would be VERY discriminating about getting into violent confrontations but certainly appeasement won't always protect your family. Just look at the parents of Dominic Johansson-they bent over backwards to satisfy the Swedish authorities but lost him anyway.
I suppose my philosophy is to rebel peacefully (i.e. live outside the system as much as possible), but when the bullies come for you, stand your ground. This is something I worry about; will I have that kind of courage? I pray that I will.
NOW HERE'S a great meme that's been circulating on social media:
lib·er·tar·i·an (noun) One who believes that oppression is best handled by the private sector.
ANARCHY: The right to disagree without violence.
~ Stefan Molyneux
Lola, you are confusing Liberalism with Anarchism.
Anarchy or Anarchism is the absence of rulers or authority. This includes both private forms of authority (such as capitalist bosses and corporations, slave owners, landlords, etc...) as well as public forms of authority.
Here's a book for you, Lola, you need to read before you continue trying to claim the mantle of Anarchism. I don't agree with Bob Black about everything, but his basic analysis of American-style "libertarianism" as a form of conservatism is spot-on:
http://www.inspiracy.com/black/abolition/libertarian.html
I know the definition of anarchism, Bill. I was answering your claim that libertarians advocate violence with a non-answer, just as your original post was a non-question.
Anyone who's been reading this blog for more than 2 days knows your views on politics. Stop clogging it up with your jabs at libertarianism as a way to promote your socialism.
Most "modern" libertarians I know follow the non-aggression principle. Watch some Molyneux and open your mind.
Educate yourself, Lola, on the reality about the ultra-right-wing individualist "Anarchism" promoted by the likes of the Libertarian Party. This is Noam Chomsky, perhaps the most famous critic of American imperialism of the last half-century.
http://books.google.com/books?id=_HkOaB89p7YC&pg=PA215&lpg=PA215&dq=noam...
You need to get over trying to put everyone neatly into a box, and most importantly, using Gumpert's blog as some personal political sounding board. Anarchism (and libertarianism) at its core is the belief that you own your own body, and no one (person) or group of people (organization or institution) has the right to impose their beliefs on you using force. Any person who deviates from this is no longer promoting anarchism (or libertarianism), no matter what your status-quo thinkers say.
Noam Chomsky and Bob Black are not status quo. I don't know where you get that idea.
Also, Lola, you'd realize pretty quickly if you read Bob Black that the non-aggression principles is itself not a sufficient criteria for Anarchy. People can voluntarily submit to authoritarianism, and indeed, the state itself is based primarily upon voluntary consent of the governed.
Trying to create an Anarchist philosophy, a priori, based upon the non-aggression principle (as American "libertarians" do) is taking us down the road to tyranny just as quickly as Lenin's a priori rejection of Agrarian radicalism (because of the Marxist bias against the peasantry).
One can only move towards a political ideal through praxis (practice). Left-wing (and now, post-left) Anarchists have been doing this for nearly two centuries now. The right-wing "Anarchism" you promote are just puppets of the business class.
Did you know, Lola, that Anarchist organizers in Madison played a critical role in the month-long PEACEFUL and POPULAR occupation of the capital building a year ago?
Anarchy is the principle of self-ownership - you own your body, you own your mind, you own your labor, you own your consciousness. You can do whatever you want as long as it does not harm anyone else's body, mind, consciousness or labor investment. It is consistent with the principles of Natural Law. IT IS NOTHING ELSE. It is not left-wing or right-wing, it is outside the paradigm of control. If you put further criteria on it, you have distorted the message - even if you try to label it "anarchy", it is not anarchy, it is other.
Now, Bill, let me ask you a question...why do you insist on posting self-serving comments that have nothing to do with David's article or any of the commentary? Remember this, that started this whole thread?
"NOW HERE'S a great meme that's been circulating on social media:
"lib·er·tar·i·an (noun) One who believes that oppression is best handled by the private sector."
WHY ARE YOU POSTING THIS HERE? Doesn't David pay for this blog out of his own pocket, and aren't you just using his generosity as a free platform for your own politics? (It's because it just eats away at you that Michael Badnarik is asked to speak at raw milk events, isn't it?) We all know your agenda, and it's to drive any legitimate conversation off course. That is what they taught you as a Global(ist) Studies major, isn't it? Distract, distort, use strawman arguments and be unrelenting. So Alinsky-esque. Now, I'm just as guilty as you in many respects because I keep feeding you, but I'm tired of you misaligning good people and shoving your "socialism" down our throats, a word you have yet to define in terms of a governmental system. As it see it, if you like to have these kinds of fights, for fun, in inappropriate places and on inappropriate forums, you are either a paid shill or one messed up kid.
Un-indoctrinate yourself, kid. Say what you want in reply, but I'm done. If you have any respect for David, you'd say your peace and be done, too.
"Anarchy is the principle of self-ownership"
Lola, have you read the opening paragraph of Proudhon's "What is Property?"
"If Slavery is murder, then Property is Theft!"
Yes, the principle of self-ownership is essential to Anarchism. Proudhon was the first self-described Anarchist in history. He was also a socialist. Prior to Proudhon, "Anarchism" was used as a pejorative against the far-left, by Monarchists and other reactionaries in the French Assembly leading up to the 1789 revolution.
Those who do not study history are bound to repeat it.
Repeat after me, Violet. Those who do not study history are bound to repeat it.
I'd love to talk to you about the Russian Revolution, if you'd care to actually educate yourself about it, and the historical events that led upto it, as well as the left-wing dissent against the "NEW TSARS." The February and October Revolutions were popular revolutions... the Bolsheviks, however, were western-influenced counter-revolutionaries.
"If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit."
Wish David had a 'like' button
Oh Sylvia, I almost posted the same wish this morning! There are comments on this thread I would love to 'like'.
Sigh, Just ignore Bill . . .he is nothing more than an agitator and a troll . . .I stopped conversing with him a few months ago . . . because he has a tin ear . . he is smart but parrots much of what he says from Socialistic tracts that are easily found on the Web . . .he refuses to listen and frankly I have not seen much from him what he has actually done for this movement beyond lots of posts. I have invited him to come to Maine to see for himself our farms and meet some of our leaders in the local food movement but he has too many excuses.
That said . . . Mark and I became active politically this election cycle and we are now Ron Paul Delegates from Maine to the RNC National Convention in Tampa. . . we beat the Establishment last weekend (Maine went all Paul:) and Mark and I as small local farmers who care about our food rights now hold key spots in our Maine GOP Republican Party (I am a State Committeewoman for our County), Mark is now the RNC National Committeeman for Maine . . . he now is a huge voice for small farmers and the rights of us to eat what we wish and after he is seated this September . . . will be able to put forward his agenda within the Republican Party for this to be accomplished . . . so far there are 7 Ron Paul Committemen and Women that have been recently elected that are for Liberty and Freedom . . . we need more so if you can become a Delegate in your state and most importantly vote in your upcoming State Primary, Caucuses and Conventions for Ron Paul (Texas and California are now Key States) that would be wonderful. Mark headlined his speech at our Convention with the platform of getting government out of the way of small farmers . . . he had a standing ovation . . .Frankly, from what I have seen . . . he is the only RNC or DNC committeeman who is a small farmer:)
This is how you change the system . . . not by complaining . . .protesting, et., al., you need to get involved with the political process . . . this is how change occurs. If Ron Paul is elected President . . . all of our posts over the last several years will be moot . . . you have to be the best farmer you can be and those that are small, local and clean will survive . . . Corporate farms which make people sick will no longer be subsidized and will go out of business . . . because the quality of food is so inferior. Our consumers will benefit because so much more will be available due to less regulatory burden.
If we care about our FREEDOM and LIBERTY with regards to food choice . . . . PLEASE . . . consider Ron Paul as your next President . . . and those running on his platform on all other offices (Yep . . . we are promoting those candidates as well . . .)
Kind regards,
Violet
www.kilbyridgefarmmaine.blogspot.com
Violet that is so wonderful! Kudos to you all!
Those who do not study history are bound to repeat it.
Electoral politics is a dead end street for those trying to affect social change. Just ask Eugene Debs, who ran for president five times on the socialist ticket (the last time from behind prison, in 1920)
I have been having this same argument with the "Recall Walker" people in Wisconsin. They just don't get it. There should have been a General Strike last spring, but it was totally co-opted by the electoral recalls.
Hot off the press: Another one bites the dust!
Crushing Defeat for Germany's Merkel as Voters Reject Austerity: The worst result in the state for the conservatives since 1949.
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/05/13-1#.T7CS1zPcWl0
btw, folks... raw milk is LEGAL in Germany.
And before you go accusing me of "electoral hypocrisy" for my anti-electoral stance, I should point out that this victory for the working class is NOT thanks to an electoral campaign, but rather, thanks to the striking workers in Egypt last spring, France 2009, Greece for the last year+, and the innumerable grassroots organizers (including those who organized 80+ farmer to drive their tractors around the state capital in Madison, WI, last March) who have been rallying working-class people against the CAPITALIST-CREATED FINANCIAL CRISES for the last 4 years.
The real battle is in the street and in the fields, not the ballot box. Even though I agree with him about many things, Ron Paul is still an extreme-right-wing racist neo-confederate who should be rejected by all those who seek liberation for working people. I could never support him, just as I will not be supporting O-BOMB-A (aka George W Bush #2).
Just a side note for all of you who are not following the Republican side of the Presidential Campaign . . . it is looking to be more and more like we will have a "Brokered" convention in Tampa . . . . this has not been seen since the 1960's . . . so it is a very exciting time for Mark and I as National Delegates (I am an alternate). Can you believe it . . . we are going to this convention as long time Establishment politicos but as passionate small farmers who are dedicated to the message of Freedom and Liberty expoused by Ron Paul . . . :)
Should read "Not Lon TIme Establishment Politicos" . . . still getting the hang of David's new blog:)
Thanks Sylvia!!!!!
Scary - The worlds most dangerous drug:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2143584/Scopolamine-Powerful-dru...
Why wouldn't every government in the world not use this drug on people in the name of national security???
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scopolamine
Right up there with valium for memory loss....add it to the list along with fluoride..
Better to plead guilty, pay $321 million and be charged with a misdemeanor then loose in court, have to pay $25 billion and be charged with fraud.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/05/14/mercks-adh...
Ken
"Bribery, Fraud, and Deception" Indeed TPTB cause the consumers to not trust.
Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPIs) I don't know if the packaging has changed, the inserts used to say something to the affect of: take for 2 weeks only and take no more often that 2 or 3 times a year. How about changing diet and lifestyle? Research in the explosion of GERD,Reflex...... diet comes to mind..
Statins are the side effects really worth the risk? How about changing life style and diet? That'd be too simple and no one would make money.
Antidepressants There are many reason why your heart and liver need to be monitored while taking these, and the increase in potential for suicide.......
Hormone Replacement Therapy Really? Are they still pushing these?
ADHD Drugs and Drugs for Pediatric Psychopathologies, such as "pediatric bipolar disorder"
Has anyone researched why there is an explosion of ADHD? Wonder how many true phsyc patients there are...
Asthma-Control Medicines Most have some component of steroids which leads to diabetes, renal problems, cardiovascular issues...... Where's the research in the cause and prevention?
Hey everyone,
A FB video statement from me will be posted later this afternoon with regards to an update on our recall.
On another subject, it appears that trashing Mark McAfee as some fringe crazy is the order of the day. Why not....it is one of the fear strategies to discredit me...You will not find a more respectful and law abiding citizen than Mark McAfee. I follow the belief that things will change with changing consumer confidence and choices...not with violence. Dollar voting trumps all violent acts. You will never see Mark McAfee challenging police officers or others with police powers. It just gives them the right to end you permanently. As a paramedic, it was me that kept the peace when the cops were not treating people fairly. I am not stupid....challenging a police officer or those with police powers is sure insanity.
OPDC is here to serve humanity and act as an example to farmers all across America and Canada that connecting to consumers and producing delicious raw milk can be done and should be done. We will become a lightening rod as this occurs. This is inevitable....it will happen and it is happening.
We are the most threatening thing to ever come along for Big Dairy Processors. The most allergenic food in America is under Dollar Voting Seige....while raw milk is growing and adding market share every day.
At OPDC our highest priority is our consumers safety and their health. We are driven by our consumers and not by the biased agencies of government and their alleies that are attempting to oppress raw milk availability.
Fairness....in 2006, 1,600 people were sickened by Campylobacter in CA from CDFA inspected pasteurized milk. What did they do?...they blamed raw milk and did not even put up a Press Release (none could be found in their databases ...I asked them for one..they would not produce it ).
We take 100% responsibility for any campylobacter that may have effected any of our consumers in the last few months. We apologize for this and are also thankful that there were no hospitalizations...all cases passed with no additional issues.
We also do not under stand how a sample of raw cream that is perfect in every way...including literally no indication of coliforms ( less than 1 is the lowest possible for labs to report ) can also have a campylobacter present.
We are producing the cleanest and best products we have ever produced. We have also been told that we are under "heightened surveilance". With that we do expect even greater harrassment as we go forward. It comes with progess and the territory as people discover the truth and raw milk and pasteurized milk suffers even more.
Amanda,
When someone claims to be sickened four months ago....there was plenty of time to test and establish a link to illness. A link to see if it was even raw milk that made them have some diarrhea.
Mark,
The 2006 pasteurized milk-related Campylobacter outbreak in CA has been discussed before on the blog, as I'm sure you remember. For those who may not realize that it was not a typical CDFA inspected dairy....the outbreak involved over 1,600 illnesses among inmates at several state prisons. The milk was produced by a prison dairy run by low-risk inmates as part of a vocational program. A similar outbreak happened in CO in 2005. None of this milk was ever available to the public, thus no press release.
A review of outbreaks linked to pasteurized milk:
http://www.realrawmilkfacts.com/PDFs/pasteurized-dairy-outbreak-table.pdf
MW
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