The Utah Department of Agriculture and Food (UDAF) has restored a raw milk dairy that lost its authorization to sell its goods in September.
The Utah Natural Meat and Milk Dairy in West Jordan, Utah, has had its permission to sell raw milk renewed. It lost its “Raw for Retail” authorization when milk samples were discovered to be tainted with the Campylobacter bacterium that caused an epidemic.
The Campylobacteria epidemic, which took one person to the hospital, was connected to 12 confirmed instances of the bacterium identified in milk samples.
The state of Utah samples and tests raw milk and milk products on a regular basis. In the state, there are 16 licensed farms.
UDAF, on the other hand, acknowledges that raw milk, no matter how well made, may be dangerous. Individuals who prefer to eat raw milk or raw milk products should take the following precautions to reduce the risk of food-borne illness:
Heat raw milk for at least 15 seconds before ingesting, and then chill it.
Keep raw milk and raw milk products refrigerated at or below 40 degrees Fahrenheit; do not allow raw milk to get to room temperature.
“Food and consumer safety are our top priorities at the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food,” stated Craig Buttars, Commissioner of Agriculture at UDAF. “While we did not take the suspension of this small farm’s and business’s license lightly, it was critical that we ensure the milk products were safe for consumption.” We appreciate the UDAF team’s and dairy owners’ efforts to identify the source of the diseases and assure the milk is safe to sell again.”
In October, Utah Natural Meat and Milk informed local media that the firm is dedicated to maintaining high standards and that foodborne diseases hit all producers, big and small, at some time. “We are grateful for the efforts by the UDAF team as well as the dairy owners to isolate the cause of the illnesses and to ensure the milk is safe to be sold once again,” a spokesperson for the dairy said.
According to public health experts, tainted raw milk does not smell or appear any different from uncontaminated milk, thus determining whether the milk is safe to ingest is difficult. Raw milk and milk products may only be sold to people directly on the farm in Utah. Only pasteurized dairy products are sold in retail outlets. Because raw milk is deemed dangerous, federal law restricts the selling of it over state boundaries.
