Although legal to sell at retail in the state of Washington, you must ask why a retailer would take such a risk?

Dungeness Valley Creamery is again recalling retail raw whole milk, skim milk and cream because it might be contaminated with Escherichia coli bacteria (E. coli), the dairy announced Tuesday.

Dungeness Valley Creamery retail raw whole milk, skim milk and cream displaying Best By dates of April 6-20 have been recalled.

Those who bought the products are urged not to drink the product and return it to the place of purchase for a full refund, the dairy said.

The recall was initiated after routine sampling conducted by the state Department of Agriculture revealed the presence of toxin-producing E. coli in retail raw whole milk dated April 6.

In September 2018, the dairy was linked to another recall because of at least two illnesses.  Laboratory tests confirmed E. coli infections in a young child and an elderly person in Washington state who drank unpasteurized, raw milk from the same dairy.

The implicated dairy was linked to an E. coli outbreak in 2009 and recalled some of its raw milk in 2013 after state tests found E. coli.

Shiga toxin-producing E. coli infections may cause severe diarrhea, stomach cramps and bloody stool.

Symptoms generally appear three to four days after exposure but can take as long as nine days to appear.

In some cases, the infection causes hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) in which red blood cells are destroyed resulting in kidney failure.

Infants, children, pregnant women, the elderly and those with compromised immune systems are especially at risk.

Anyone experiencing these symptoms should immediately contact a health care provider. At this time, there are no known illnesses associated with the recalled product.