Outbreaks from Foodborne Pathogens in Raw Milk and Raw Milk Cheeses, United States 1998-present

Crazy Bus.jpgThese tables were compiled by the Real Raw Milk Facts working group through searches of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) online foodborne disease outbreak database (1998-2009).  Because the CDC database has about a two-year lag period, preliminary data was gathered from government and dairy industry press releases, reports, and newsletters to document recent outbreaks (2010-present).  Information on farm type and size was taken from the implicated dairy’s website, when available. 

SUMMARY

  • 118 total outbreaks
  1. 85 fluid milk:  17 cow, 4 goat, 64 unspecified milk type
  2. 27 cheese:  2 aged, 3 homemade, 17 Mexican-style queso fresco, 1 goat chevre, 1 curds, 3 unspecified
  3. 6 multiple raw dairy products (fluid milk, cheese, and/or colostrum)
  • 2,123 total illnesses, 2 deaths
  1. 1,490 fluid milk-related illnesses, no deaths:  225 cow, 63 goat, 1,202 unspecified
  2. 576 cheese-related illnesses:  46 aged, 80 homemade, 324 Mexican-style queso fresco (2 deaths), 5 goat chevre, 63 curds, 58 unspecified cheese type
  3. 57 multiple raw dairy products-related illnesses (fluid milk, cheese, and/or colostrum)

Download PDF of all outbreaks and recalls since 1998.