Sally Jackson Cheese, a well-respected gourmet cheese from Washington State, has been recalled. From Tami over at Pacific NW Cheese Project:
The recall is the result of an investigation that has been underway for several weeks. Apparently an e coli ‘cluster’ was discovered in several Pacific Northwest states, and the illnesses were traced to cheese consumed by the various people who fell ill. Investigators have focused on Sally Jackson’s cheeses as a possible source of the outbreak.
A few weeks ago, Oroville farmer Sally Jackson told a state inspector that in 30 years of making cheese — cheese that is revered not only in Washington but by gourmet chefs nationwide — she’d never gotten anyone sick.
That all changed in an instant. Over the past week, Jackson learned that eight cases of E. coli illness are likely linked with her products. On Friday, she announced a recall and is cooperating with government agencies.
Inspectors found Listeria monocytogenes in cheese made by the Estrella Family Creamery, and also repeatedly identified the bacteria in swabs of its Montesano facility, yet that Grays Harbor County dairy refused a request to recall its product. In October, the Food and Drug Administration obtained a court order forcing it to shut down. The creamery is battling the court action.
“I do not want to be associated with their fight,” Jackson said. “The bottom line is, I don’t want to make anybody else sick.”
Finally, from the Oregonian,
Last Friday, less than two weeks after Tourdjman started the investigation, Jackson pulled all her cheese off the market.
“I voluntarily recalled my cheese to keep other people from getting sick,” she told The Oregonian.
The recall was followed by an FDA inspection report that cited Jackson for unsanitary practices, such as inadequate hand-washing facilities and manure on floors.
Jackson, who turns 65 in a few weeks, is closing down.
“I would have preferred to have (retired) on my own terms but it’s not to be,” she said.
It is becoming increasingly clear to me that public health
agencies and the media are waging a (possibly coordinated) war
against all forms of raw dairy in this country. None of these 8
cases can be conclusively tied to this cheese and one of the two
samples that tested positive came from a dumpster. Contamination,
anyone? This made the front page of the Oregonian today, and forced
a small farmer out of business, yet a industrial scale egg producer
can sicken thousands and get but a slap on the wrist and continue
operations. The agricultural newspaper Capital Press stated, “One
of the eight consumed the cheese, and four others may have.” WHAT??
You’ve got three of the people without a link to eating the cheese,
four maybes, and only confirmed; and with these cases so
widespread, there could be any number of explanations. The Capital
Press goes on to state, ” Inspections revealed problems with
sanitation, its employees, equipment, utensils, as well as
construction and maintenance of the building. Why are these only a
problem now there is a supposed crisis, shouldn’t the inspectors
have noticed these on prior inspections. Either they weren’t doing
their job properly, or these are trumped up charges to make their
case sound more appealing. I’m not saying that raw milk producers
shouldn’t be scrupulously clean, they absolutely should, but we
should have a level playing field that treats all food producers
equally, with respect and due process.
“but we should have a level playing field that treats all food producers equally, with respect and due process.”
if only omnivores had to pay the true cost of food…