Deaths Blamed on Contaminated Milk

Jan 09, 07:33 AM

By Denise Lavoie

The Associated Press

BOSTON

At Whittier Farms dairy, the fifth-generation owners brag of the quality of their Holstein cows and still deliver milk to your door in glass bottles. Customers say they like the products because they are a hormone-free taste of old New England .

But health officials now say three elderly men have died and at least one pregnant woman has miscarried since last June after drinking bacteria-contaminated milk from the dairy's plant in Shrewsbury, about 35 miles west of Boston.

All were infected with listeria, which is extremely rare in pasteurized milk. It is more often found in raw foods, such as uncooked meat and vegetables, and processed foods such as soft cheeses and cold cuts.

The outbreak is believed to be only the third time listeria has ever been linked to pasteurized milk in the United States, said Dr. Alfred DeMaria, state director of communicable disease control.

"We know something is going on; we just don't know what it is," DeMaria said. "We just need to find out how the bacteria is getting into the milk."

Listeria bacteria are often present in manure and are commonly found in soil and water. Pasteurization is supposed to kill listeria.

Tests at the Whittier Farms plant found nothing wrong with its pasteurization process, deepening the mystery.

Health investigators are now looking at the cooling and bottling machinery, including the connecting pipes, for the source of the bacteria, DeMaria said. Investigators have taken about 70 samples from vents, ceilings, floors, tanks, bottle-washers, bottles and other equipment.

"We're focusing on every inch of contact with the milk products," DeMaria said.

The dairy, which distributes milk under various brand names to homes and stores across central Massachusetts and also operates a 500-acre farm in the town of Sutton, has suspended operations until the source of the contamination is pinpointed.

The Whittier family has declined to be interviewed. In a statement posted in the window of its dairy store and in a letter to its customers, the farm said it is "extremely concerned about the situation" and is cooperating with the investigation.

Health officials say about 2,500 serious listeriosis cases are reported in the United States every year, 20 to 40 of them in Massachusetts. Symptoms include fever, nausea and diarrhea.

the bacteria

Listeria is extremely rare in pasteurized milk. It is found more often in raw foods, such as uncooked meat and vegetables, and processed foods such as soft cheeses and cold cuts.

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