Brand of Milk Pulled in Salmonella Alert

The California Department of Health Services Friday issued a statewide remove-from-sale order of a certain brand of unpasteurized milk product that may be contaminated with salmonella.

Following the order, a health advisory was issued by the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services warning people not to purchase or drink Stueve’s Natural raw certified whole and nonfat cow’s milk in half-gallon containers with code numbers JAN 29E through FEB 05E and certified raw all-purpose cream in half-pint containers coded FEB 02E.

“We are alerting the media--print, radio and television--as a means of making the public aware,” said Art Pilzer, director of county health services’ Environmental Health Consumer Protection Bureau.

“We are also visiting establishments where we have documentation of previous activity that the product is available and making sure that the product is removed,” Pilzer said.

Stueve’s products are sold in about 50 locations throughout the Valley, typically in smaller markets and convenience stores. But Pilzer noted that the brand may also be found in some chain operations such as Hughes.

Salmonella was discovered Thursday by the Los Angeles County Milk Commission through routine testing. Samples of Stueve’s unpasteurized whole and nonfat milk and cream products made from the same bulk material showed results of salmonella, he said.

“If the public experiences illness after consuming this product such as diarrhea, cramps, fever and general feelings of illness, they should definitely go see a doctor,” said Pilzer, who added that no cases of salmonella poisoning had been reported, perhaps due to the recentness of the findings.

The remove-from-sale order does not affect other Stueve’s products, he said.