Wisconsin Ag Connection - Newspaper: Farm That Supplied Raw Milk Yet to be Identified

Wisconsin Ag News Headlines

Newspaper: Farm That Supplied Raw Milk Yet to be Identified
Wisconsin Ag Connection - 12/12/2014

Attempts by Wisconsin's largest newspaper to obtain the name of the farm that supplied unpasteurized milk to high school students in Durand that became sick from drinking it this fall have been denied. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says that it has been trying to identify the farm under the state's open records law, but the Department of Health Services and the Department of Agriculture have not released that information.

Health officials unveiled in October that an illness outbreak that sickened 22 members of the Durand High School football team in September was caused by unpasteurized milk. The incident hospitalized eight students, forced the cancellation of two football games and prompted 150 high school and middle school students to miss classes to avoid becoming ill.

The raw milk was served at a potluck on September 18. Tests have identified the bacteria that sickened members of the team and coaching staff as the same Campylobacter bacteria found on the farm that supplied the milk.

Meanwhile, the newspaper says the state has also refused to identify a dairy farm that supplied raw milk at a June 2011 elementary school event in Racine County that sickened 16 people.

The Journal Sentinel claimed that the Department of Health Services was waiting for a final report on the Durand incident before releasing the farm name.

Other Wisconsin Headlines