San Diego County has reported at least 9 cases of salmonellosis after consumers partook of Raw Farm LLC milk products that were not pasteurized. According to San Diego Health and Human Services Agency, the victims all reported consuming products from this one retailer, and are urging consumers with these products on had to discard them immediately. According to national salmonella lawyer Ron Simon, “drinking unpasteurized dairy products is always unsafe. It can be deadly to the young, elderly, or people with compromised immune systems, but can also make people n good health very ill. It can also have significant side-effects that can last for years.” Ron Simon has been an advocate of the fight against selling unpasteurized milk, cheese, and other biproducts due to their dangers.
This current outbreak started in September of 2023, and according to Dr. Seema Shah, medical director of the county’s Epidemiology and Immunization Services branch: “The county recommends that people who have products from this company in their homes dispose of them immediately. It’s also important for anyone sick to seek medical care. People who are ill, and those that live with them, should wash their hands frequently to avoid contaminating surfaces and foods that could spread the disease.” The County also issued this statement: “People infected with Salmonella generally develop bloody or watery diarrhea, stomach cramps, fever, nausea, vomiting and headache approximately six hours to six days after consuming contaminated foods. The illness typically lasts for 4-7 days. In some cases, people may develop severe illness that leads to hospitalization.”
Why Are Unpasteurized Milk Products Dangerous?
The problem is simple. Most bacteria, like salmonella, follow the oral fecal route, another way of saying that bacteria is ingested by a host, and then excreted by that host, which then contaminates food and is consumed again. When cows give milk, that is a very dangerous time when cross-contamination from excretion can easily occur. Often raw milk can contains Salmonella, E. coli, Campylobacter, Staphylococcus aureus, Yersinia, Brucella,Coxiella and Listeria.
For more information about the dangers of raw milk, click here. For a related story about dangers of unpasteurized products, click here.
