Tainted Milk Was in Stores for 5 Days After Discovery, State Says

Alta-Dena certified raw milk, sold under the Stueve label, remained in stores for five days after a Los Angeles County laboratory discovered that it had been contaminated by salmonella bacteria, state officials said Wednesday.

The laboratory discovered the contamination on Sept. 27, but did not report it to the state Department of Food and Agriculture, Tina Taggart, a department spokeswoman, said.

After conducting its own tests, agriculture department officials discovered the contamination last Wednesday and notified the state Health Services Department, which issued a recall order the same day, Taggart said.

Clare Berryhill, the food and agriculture department director, on Monday sent an official notice to Dr. Paul Fleiss, director of the county’s Medical Milk Commission, officially notifying him that “whenever a suspect pathogenic organism is isolated in raw milk” the agriculture department should be notified immediately by phone, with written confirmation within 24 hours, Taggart said.

The commission is responsible for adopting regulations for production and distribution of certified raw milk.

Salmonella can cause diarrhea and fever, and it can be fatal to infants, the elderly or those in general poor health.

No illnesses had been linked to the contaminated milk, Taggart said. She added, however, that it takes up to eight weeks for cases of salmonella food poisoning to be reported to state health officials.