STOP-SALES ORDER ISSUED TO RAW MILK SUPPLIER
November 28, 2017
The Connecticut Dept. of Agriculture has issued a stop-sales order to a raw milk supplier whose products made a New Jersey woman ill, prompting a health warning from the federal Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
The CDC recommends that anyone who drank raw milk or consumed raw milk products from Udder Milk in the past six months visit their doctor for antibiotics to prevent illness.
The company is based in New York and New Jersey and delivers milk in Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island. All four states have issued stop-sales orders.
Udder Milk products are not sold in stores. Customers order online and pick up the products from a delivery van at a pre-arranged location. The only known drop-off location in Connecticut is in Greenwich.
No illnesses have been reported in Connecticut.
According to the CDC, the contaminated products may cause infection with a rare but potentially serious germ called Brucella abortus. While Brucella can cause anyone to become sick, women may suffer miscarriage and other pregnancy complications making it critical for pregnant women who may have consumed the raw milk from Udder Milk to seek medical care immediately.
In late September, a New Jersey woman became ill after drinking raw milk from the company. The CDC confirmed her illness was Brucella in late October. Because Udder Milk has not provided information about the farms that supply their milk, it has not been possible to trace the source of the woman’s infection.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S Food and Drug Administration are working with state health and agriculture officials to trace the source of the contaminated raw milk and raw milk products.
Raw milk is not pasteurized. Public health authorities remind consumers that pasteurized milk is safe because the pasteurization heating process destroys bacteria that may cause human illness.
More information is available at:
https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2017/p1121-contaminated-raw-milk.html