It has been a busy year for outbreaks related to milk or cheese – mostly raw – See, “Outbreaks, illnesses and recalls linked to raw (unpasteurized) and pasteurized dairy products, United States, 2010 (through December 18, 2010).” The last several raw milk cheese outbreaks (see below), prompted me to take a hard look at the rationale behind the so called “60 Day Rule.” Here is the link to the literature review – “The Raw Milk Beat Goes On: A Look at the Literature and the 60-‐Day Raw Milk Cheese Aging Rule.”
Outbreaks, illnesses and recalls linked to cheeses made from raw (unpasteurized) and pasteurized milk, United States, 2010 (through November 2010)
|
Year |
Month |
Location |
Pathogen |
Number ill |
Vehicle* |
Comment |
Reference (click on link) |
|
2010 |
Feb |
WA |
Listeria monocytogenes |
5 |
Queso fresco cheese |
Pasteurized milk used to make the cheese |
|
|
2010 |
Feb |
WA |
Listeria monocytogenes |
0 |
Various raw milk cheeses |
60-day aged raw milk cheeses from Montesano plant |
|
|
2010 |
Mar |
WA |
Listeria monocytogenes |
0 |
Tomme raw milk cheese |
Expanded recall of 60-day aged raw milk cheeses from Montesano plant |
|
|
2010 |
Apr |
WA |
Listeria monocytogenes |
0 |
Queso fresco cheese |
Pasteurized milk used to make the cheese; recall with no illnesses reported |
|
|
2010 |
May |
NV |
Campylobacter |
1 |
Illegal Mexican-style cheese |
Type of milk used to make the cheese unknown |
|
|
2010 |
May |
MN |
Shiga toxin-producing E. coli |
0 |
Raw milk cheese |
Non-O157 found in dairy’s embargoed cheese during raw milk outbreak investigation |
|
|
2010 |
Jun |
DE |
Brucella and Listeria monocytogenes |
2 |
Raw dairy products including cheese |
Two separate incidents |
|
|
2010 |
Jul |
PA |
Staphylococcus aureus |
0 |
Raw milk hard cheddar cheese |
60-day aged cheese; recall with no illnesses reported |
|
|
2010 |
Jul |
NY |
Listeria monocytogenes |
0 |
Queso fresco cheese |
Pasteurized milk used to make the cheese; recall with no illnesses reported |
NY AGMKT |
|
2010 |
Aug |
RI |
Listeria monocytogenes |
0 |
Queso fresco cheese |
Pasteurized milk used to make the cheese; recall with no illnesses reported |
|
|
2010 |
Aug |
Multiple |
Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus |
0 |
Raw milk Cheese |
60-day aged raw milk cheese from plant in Missouri; recall with no illnesses |
|
|
2010 |
Sep |
WA |
Listeria monocytogenes |
0 |
Raw milk cheeses |
Expanded recall of 60-day aged raw milk cheeses from Montesano plant |
|
|
2010 |
Oct |
WA |
Listeria monocytogenes |
0 |
Raw milk cheeses |
Expanded recall of 60-day aged raw milk cheeses from Montesano plant |
|
|
2010 |
Nov |
AZ, CA, CO, NM, NV |
E. coli O157:H7 and Listeria monocytogenes |
38 |
Raw gouda cheese; other cheeses |
60-day aged gouda; E. coli outbreak linked to Costco “Cheese Road Show;” recall expanded to all company cheeses on 11/17/10; no Listeria illnesses reported |
|
|
2010 |
Nov |
CO |
E. coli O157:H7 |
0 |
Gorgonzola cheese |
Cheese imported from Italy, made from pasteurized milk; no illnesses reported |
|
|
2010 |
Nov |
WA |
Listeria monocytogenes |
0 |
Fresh (Queso and ricotta) Mexican-style cheeses |
Made from pasteurized milk; no illnesses reported (previous recall from same plant in April 2010) |
|
|
2010 |
Dec |
Multi |
E. coli O157:H7 |
8 |
Raw milk cheese |
60-day aged soft cheeses made with raw milk |
|