The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment said in an April 14 news release that tests must be conducted to ensure the milk is free of E. coli and fecal coliform, negative for antibiotics, and meets acceptable standards for coliform, among other things.
The department also recommended the dairy’s dishwasher be operated in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions; that it clean and sanitize the milking equipment after each milking and provide hand-washing facilities in the milk-processing area and barn.
To distribute raw milk again, Kinikin must also conduct follow-up sampling for the next two weeks and that sampling.
Campylobacter jejuni is a bacterium that was first recognized as a cause of human gastrointestinal illness in 1975. Since that time, the bacterium has been identified as the most common cause of bacterial foodborne illness in the U.S., ahead of Salmonella (which is the second most common cause).
The illness caused by ingestion of Campylobacter bacteria is called campylobacteriosis. Diarrhea is the most common symptom of campylobacteriosis, and is often bloody. Typical symptoms of C. jejuni infection also include fever, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, headache, and muscle pain. A majority of cases are mild, do not require hospitalization, however, Campylobacter jejuni infection can be severe and life-threatening. Death is more common when other diseases (e.g., cancer, liver disease, and immuno-deficiency diseases) are present. For more information on Campylobacter, visit about-campylobacter and campylobacterblog.