It’s taken a while to get a listicle going on this topic, raw milk deaths don’t happen often, but over the past decade we’ve found a few.
Virtually all illnesses related to raw milk are avoidable. While it’s possible for contaminants to slip through a good biosecurity program undetected, this is almost never the case. Assumptions of randomness, to the point of superstition, create nihilism toward food safety and do little to help avoid the avoidable cases – so let’s focus on those.
Cheese maker knowingly shipped listeria
Johannes Vulto of Vulto Creamery ran a cheesemaking shop in Walton, NY. He was endearingly noted for welcoming Culture Cheese Mag at the door while barefoot in rolled up jeans and a smock. He leaned into his business after the passing of his wife, following a two-year battle with cancer, and found a passion in artisan cheesemaking.
He pled guilty to one misdemeanor count of causing the introduction of adulterated food into interstate commerce in March 2024. This charge is related to eight people getting sick, ages 1 to 89, contributing to the deaths of two people (ages undisclosed) in Connecticut and Vermont. He knew for 20 months that his product was testing positive for Listeria before issuing an advisory or recall.
Black mold had built up in multiple locations of his production facility. Concrete floors in manufacturing and aging rooms were cracked, pitted, unsealed and retaining moisture. Sticky fly tape was heavily loaded with dead insects and hanging directly over uncovered cheeses. Employees were not washing their hands or arms before submerging them in whey to stir and break up curds. There was no effort to test potential areas of surface contamination to eradicate the microbe from his facilities after it was identified.
Sentencing is was scheduled for July 9, 2024. Vulto is facing a maximum of one year in prison, one year on probation, and up to $750,000 in fines.
Conclusion: Vulto was sentenced to 3 years of probation and ordered to pay a fine of $100,000, and to perform 240 hours of community service. Vulto Creamery LLC, which no longer operates, was sentenced to 1 year of probation.
Bottling raw milk next to a stream of wastewater
More to come…
Food safety materials from The Raw Milk Institute
The Raw Milk Institute promotes safety standards for clean raw milk production. Visit their website at rawmilkinstitute.org and view raw milk farmers listed by RAWMI (not affiliated)
