Minnesotans Should Throw Out This Brand Of Milk, MDH Warns

MINNESOTA — The Minnesota Department of Health is urging residents to throw out milk from Healthy Harvest Farm and Kitchen after its products were linked to a raw milk outbreak.

Eight cases of cryptosporidiosis and one case of E. coli have been linked to the raw milk farm in Hillman, Minnesota, the MDH said Friday.

Four kids under the age of 10 are among those who became sick, including one child who was hospitalized.

The MDH says anyone who may have recently purchased milk from Healthy Harvest Farm and Kitchen should not consume it and instead throw it out. The milk may be labeled "natural A2 milk," and consumers may be unaware that the milk has not been pasteurized, officials said.

The cases involve people who became ill with gastrointestinal symptoms in early August and reported purchasing or consuming raw milk from Healthy Harvest Farm and Kitchen before the illness, health investigators said.

The illnesses stem from a parasite commonly found in cattle dung. One of the cases involved a person who was infected with cryptosporidiosis and E. coli at the same time.

Being infected by multiple germs is not uncommon in raw milk outbreaks, officials said.

"Cattle can naturally carry Cryptosporidium and E. coli in their digestive system and shed these germs in their manure even though the animal is not sick. Contamination of the milk with manure can occur during the milking process, and if the milk is not pasteurized, the germs will not be killed," said Carrie Klumb, senior epidemiologist in the Zoonotic Diseases Unit at MDH, in a statement.

"Consuming any unpasteurized milk, no matter how well the animals are cared for and how clean the operation is, puts people at risk for getting sick."

Raw milk has not gone through the pasteurization process, during which the milk is heated to kill fecal germs that can contaminate raw milk.

The MDH said pasteurization is the only effective method for eliminating germs in raw milk and does not significantly change milk's nutritional value.

Cryptosporidium symptoms include watery diarrhea, stomach cramps, loss of appetite, and weight loss.

The symptoms typically begin about a week after consuming contaminated foods or touching infected animals and last for about two weeks, officials said.

Symptoms of E. coli begin between two and five days after eating contaminated food and can include stomach cramps and diarrhea, including bloody diarrhea.

Patch has reached out to Healthy Harvest Farm and Kitchen for comment.