CDFA lifts Organic Pastures raw milk quarantine after further Campylobacter tests
On October 16, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) ordered the recall of Organic Pastures Dairy Grade-A raw milk with the date code October 24 after "the confirmed detection of Campylobacter bacteria" in a single sample during "routine inspection and sample collection at the facility."
No other Organic Pastures Dairy products were affected by the recall and no illnesses have been reported.
In Facebook and Twitter posts earlier today, Organic Pastures Dairy said CDFA was preparing to lift the quarantine on Organic Pastures Dairy Grade-A raw milk with the code date October 24 after additional testing.
A variety of Organic Pastures Dairy products, including raw whole milk, raw skim milk, raw heavy cream, and raw low-fat kefir, tested negative for Campylobacter.
Off #recall first thing in the morning! #rawmilk back to stores within 48 hours!!!! Thank you for believing in OP pic.twitter.com/n6AsRNpyFb
— Organic Pastures (@OrganicPastures) October 20, 2015"CDFA has given us our all negative test results and we will start bottling at 3am to get every CA store their full product orders within 2-3 days," Organic Pastures Dairy wrote on Facebook.
"The state will be arriving first thing tomorrow to give us our official recall release forms."
"We are extremely proud of our entire food safety team who continues to work extremely hard day in day out to provide safe and delicious raw dairy products," it added.
The sale of unpasteurized milk for human consumption is currently legal within the borders of several US states, including California, Washington, Pennsylvania and Utah.
In 2008, Organic Pastures Dairy filed a petition with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requesting an amendment to CFR 1240.61 - the regulation that prohibits the distribution of dairy products made from unpasteurized milk across US state lines.
In a February 26 2013 letter, Michael M Landa, director of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) of the FDA, informed Mark McAfee, CEO, Organic Pastures Dairy, it was “denying” the petition.
According to Landa, the petition did not demonstrate “any reasonable grounds” to revise CFR 1240.61.
