This week the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned people not to drink unpasteurized milk from South Carolina-based Tucker Adkins Dairy because it may be contaminated with Campylobacter. Three confirmed cases and five probable cases of campylobacteriosis infection in neighboring North Carolina have been linked to the farm’s raw milk. Federal law mandates that milk sold across states lines must be pasteurized to protect the public health. The raw milk associated with the outbreak was packaged in 1-gallon containers and distributed in North Carolina by a courier. It is unknown whether the raw milk may have been distributed in other states. The retail sale of raw milk is legal within South Carolina; however, it is prohibited in North Carolina.
According to AP, the owner of a South Carolina dairy says an investigation by two states and the federal government into whether raw milk from her cows made eight people sick is a case of jumping to conclusions.
“They didn’t wait for all the tests to come in,” said Carolyn Adkins, owner and operator of the Tucker Adkins Dairy in York, S.C. “In fact, they have milk that they’re still testing right now.”