The Washington State Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety Program has sent out a final report of their field investigation into Dee Creek Farm, after an E. coli outbreak sickened 18 people.
Lab testing confirmed that the E.coli O157:H7 that sickened people did originate from Dee Creek Farm, who illegally sold raw milk without required WSDA Milk Producer and Milk Processor licenses and sanitary public health inspections.
Investigators found numerous sanitary violations as well as the presence of E.coli in the following areas:
- A partially filled gallon container of milk provided to Clark County via a shareholder.
- Individual cow milk samples that were provided to WSDA by Dee Creek Farm.
- Environmental swab samples that were collected on the Farm, specifically:
- Topside of rubber mat in milking area, beneath where cows are milked.
- Holding pen mud-pack/pasture at entrance to milking area.
- Mud on the ground just inside the door to the milking area.