October 2006

The Wilson Daily reported today about a Campylobacter outbreak among Wilson, North Carolina, residents. According to the article, an investigation into the outbreak is ongoing.

Health Department employees investigated the food poisoning cases and visited two Wilson restaurants. Neither were linked to the food poisoning.

Hospital workers reported the food poisoning cases to the Health

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Michigan is the latest state to crack down on farmers who produce and sell raw milk.  A Business Week article from today calls enforcement actions by Michigan health authorities "inappropriate," but does include a quote from the Michigan Department of Agriculture spokeswoman on why enforcement is necessary:

"We’ve had an investigation for several months now,"

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Washington Post reporter Thomas Bartlett wrote about raw milk and the group of people who "swear by the virtues" of unpasteurized milk in an October 1st article.

In Maryland, where I live, as in most other states, you can’t walk into a store and buy raw milk. That’s because, while possession of raw milk is legal, selling it is a crime. It’s also a violation of federal law to transport raw milk across state lines with the intent to sell it for human consumption. The Tennessee dairy that sold it to me offers raw milk as pet food. The dairy’s Web site warns that "due to significant legal and liability issues, we cannot and will not answer questions regarding human consumption of these or any other raw milk products — please don’t ask."

Barrett mentions that in a conversation with a Maryland health official raw milk was compared to heroin or marijuana.Continue Reading Why does an avid band of devotees swear by the virtues of unpasteurized milk?

Marilynn Marchione, medical writer for the Associated Press, wrote a recent article on the decline in fooodborne illnesses reported by CDC.  In the article, she points out that federal statistics show that foodborne illnesses are occurring at record-low rates, but

The trend could reverse in coming years if fruit and vegetable growers do not address problems like those that led to the spinach scare, Tauxe and others said."

"The meat and poultry industry has made great strides. The produce industry has a long way to go to catch up," said Michael Doyle, a microbiologist who heads the University of Georgia’s Center for Food Safety.

Compared with statistics from 1996-1998, CDC’s FoodNet tracking system has reported a decrease in nearly every major foodborne illness.  Campylobacter infections are down 30 percent.  The bacterium, which along with Salmonella sickens the most people, usually is found in raw or undercooked poultry or eggs.Continue Reading CDC reports decline in foodborne illnesses, Campylobacter