OLYMPIA — The Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) is advising consumers not to drink Pride & Joy Dairy organic retail raw milk because it may be contaminated with salmonella, an organism that can cause serious illness.
This public health notice was initiated after routine sampling by WSDA found salmonella in bottled organic retail raw milk collected from the Pride & Joy Dairy in Toppenish. The product has a best-by date of October 4 (OCT 4). WSDA and the company continue to investigate the source of the problem. Currently, there are no reported cases of human illnesses associated with this product.
Salmonella can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in humans. Young children, the elderly, and those with compromised immune systems are especially at risk. Healthy persons infected with salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis. Anyone experiencing these symptoms should immediately contact a health care provider.
The company sells its products in pint, quart, half-gallon, and one-gallon plastic containers. This public health notice includes all container sizes.
According to Pride & Joy Dairy’s website, the firm distributes their products to the following locations in Washington state:
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Eastern Washington: Pride & Joy Dairy farm store (Granger) Bear Foods (Chelan) Better Life Natural Foods (Ellensburg) Settler’s Country Market (Ephrata and Moses Lake) Sage Mountain Natural Foods (Leavenworth) The Mazama Store (Mazama) Yoke’s Fresh Market (Richland) Glover Street Market (Twisp) Lemongrass Natural Foods (Wenatchee) Rhubarb Market (Wenatchee) Wenatchee Natural Foods (Wenatchee) Drop-off group locations:
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Western Washington: Marvel Food and Deli (Auburn) Battle Ground Produce (Battle Ground) The Family Grocer (Duvall) Sno-Isle Food Co-op (Everett) Marlene’s Market & Deli (Federal Way and Tacoma) San Juan Island Food Co-op (Friday Harbor) Nature’s Market (Kent) Sunshine Corners Nutrition (Kent) Skagit Valley Food Co-op (Mount Vernon) Central Co-op (Seattle) Arnada Naturals (Vancouver) Chuck’s Produce (2 locations in Vancouver) Drop-off group locations |
Retail raw milk is legal to sell and buy in Washington, but there are serious potential health risks. Consumers should read the warning label on the retail raw milk container carefully and ask their retailer to verify the milk was produced and processed by a WSDA-licensed operation.
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Source: Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA)
