DUNGENESS — In the wake of a state Department of Health report of three E. coli infections earlier this fall in people who drank raw milk from the Dungeness Valley Creamery, dairy co-owner Jeff Brown is facing what he calls “mass hysteria.”
On Wednesday, the Department of Health issued a statement that “recent E. coli infections in Washington have been linked to drinking raw, unpasteurized milk” from the dairy north of Sequim.
The State Department of Agriculture, which posted the report online, has tested the Dungeness Valley Creamery’s milk, as well as its facilities, and found no E. coli, added spokesman Jason Kelly.
The dairy at 1915 Towne Road in Sequim is not being shut down or penalized in any way, Kelly said.
In an interview, Department of Health spokesman Donn Moyer said a Clark County man in his 30s suffered from E. coli infection in November; a preteen girl in Snohomish County got sick in September and a young King County boy was ill in November.
One of the patients was briefly hospitalized and then released, Moyer said, while none has experienced serious complications.
The Dungeness Valley Creamery has been selling its product across Western Washington for nearly four years.
About two dozen raw milk producers are licensed in Washington state. The Dungeness Valley Creamery is one of the biggest producers.
Since receiving its Washington Department of Agriculture license in March 2006, the dairy has increased production to 200 to 350 gallons per day, and trucks carrying the milk run four days a week from here to Seattle and beyond, Brown added.
Dungeness Valley’s raw milk has been an in-demand product, he said, in stores such as Country Aire in Port Angeles, Sunny Farms in Carlsborg and the Food Co-op in Port Townsend, and in much larger markets in Seattle, Tacoma and the Vancouver, Wash.-Portland, Ore., metropolitan area.
Creamery in compliance
There has been no recall of milk from Dungeness, and no anticipated recall since “the creamery remains in compliance with Washington state regulations,” added Kelly.
“They have the facilities to maintain a grade A dairy.”
The state’s prepared statement is a “consumer advisory,” he said, aimed at reminding people that drinking unpasteurized milk can pose health risks.
“No E. coli has been found in samples,” the statement reiterates, “from the dairy’s current batch of milk.
“But during an investigation at the dairy, WSDA found the same bacteria that caused one of the illnesses.”
Brown, in response, pointed out that E. coli was not found in the current batch nor in any batch, ever. Food safety inspectors typically test the Dungeness milk monthly, Kelly added.
Bacteria in a field
So where was the E. coli bacteria found?
Brown said investigators detected it in old manure in a field where a group of Jersey cows had been some weeks earlier. They were dry cows, he added, and not part of the milking herd.
When asked to confirm that, Kelly said only that the investigation is ongoing, and that Agriculture will continue to visit and test the dairy each week through the end of the year.
Brown, meantime, is used to the scrutiny from the state. He’s been a dairyman all of his life. But he pointed out that E. coli bacteria can also find its way into other foods, such as spinach, lettuce, tomatoes and meat.
Based on the creamery’s production levels, about 1,000 Washingtonians drink his Jerseys’ milk on a daily basis, Brown added.
Yet the state release focuses only on raw milk, and call the three infections an E. coli outbreak.
The three Washingtonians “are linked in an outbreak to the same source,” Moyer said.
“The E. coli strain found in this investigation causes about 100,000 illnesses, 3,000 hospitalizations and 90 deaths in the United States,” each year, Moyer noted, though he didn’t break down those numbers by food source.
Fielding calls
By Thursday afternoon, Brown was still fielding phone calls from reporters and retailers. One of his largest Seattle-area sellers said it wanted to restock its shelves with Dungeness Valley’s raw milk, but would have to wait a little while.
“I can understand that,” Brown replied.
His daughter Sarah Brown McCarthey, co-owner of the creamery, said it will continue producing milk “in its natural form,” grade A unpasteurized, from the farm’s 70 Jerseys.
“Our reputation has been compromised without any fault of our own,” she added. “WSDA only put out the press release to make sure they are covered, and are erring on the side of caution.”
With his herd in the barn and the sun slipping behind the Olympic Mountains, Brown stood on his back porch, talking to yet another caller Thursday afternoon.
“This will blow over,” he said. “But it won’t be fast.”
Dairy owners have posted a written response to the state’s release on their Web site at www.dungenessvalleycreamery.com/.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-681-2391 or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.
