--- title: "Washington Names Sequim Raw Milk Dairy as Likely Source of Its Fourth Outbreak Since 2009: Four Sick with E. coli, No Recall, and No News Release" date: 2026-09-03T21:52:00-07:00 author: Bill Marler canonical_url: "https://marlerclark.com/news_events/washington-names-sequim-raw-milk-dairy-as-likely-source-of-its-fourth-outbreak-since-2009-four-sick-with-e-coli-no-recall-and-no-news-release" section: News --- [All News](/news_events) / [Press Releases](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/press-releases) / # Washington Names Sequim Raw Milk Dairy as Likely Source of Its Fourth Outbreak Since 2009: Four Sick with E. coli, No Recall, and No News Release BAINBRIDGE ISLAND, Wash., September 3, 2026 — The Washington State Department of Health has identified raw milk from Dungeness Valley Creamery, a state-licensed dairy in Sequim, Washington, as the most likely source of four Shiga toxin-producing *E. coli* (STEC) infections in late May and early June 2026. DOH posted its findings on an [outbreak page](https://doh.wa.gov/you-and-your-family/illness-and-disease-z/foodborne-illness/outbreaks/2026-shiga-toxin-producing-e-coli-stec-infection-outbreak-linked-raw-milk-consumption) on July 2 without a news release. No recall was issued. As of today, no news outlet has reported the outbreak. According to DOH, four people were infected with the same highly related strain of STEC between May 28 and June 4, 2026. Two reported drinking Dungeness Valley Creamery raw milk shortly before becoming ill: an Oregon resident who bought it on May 25 and a Snohomish County resident who bought it on May 28. A King County resident drank raw milk but declined to name the brand, and a Texas resident tested positive while visiting Washington and could not be interviewed. No one was hospitalized, and no one died. It is the fourth outbreak linked to the dairy since 2009, according to an [analysis published September 2](https://www.marlerblog.com/case-news/four-e-coli-cases-tied-to-dungeness-valley-creamery-raw-milk-no-recall-no-headlines/) by food safety attorney Bill Marler of Marler Clark, Inc., PS. Across those four outbreaks, fourteen people have been reported ill: *E. coli* in 2009, 2018 and 2026, and *Campylobacter* in 2021. The creamery’s raw milk has been pulled from sale six times, in 2013, 2014, twice in 2019, 2020 and 2021, each time after a state sample tested positive or an outbreak was identified. “Four people got sick in May. The state named the dairy, tested a bottle three weeks later, found nothing, posted a page, and moved on,” Marler said. “No reporter noticed. Neither did I, until now.” **Why there was no recall** The Washington State Department of Agriculture samples every licensed raw milk dairy once a month. Its routine Dungeness Valley Creamery sample, collected June 16, tested negative for STEC, and on that basis DOH says no recall was recommended. The last known purchase by a patient was May 28, nineteen days before the sample was collected. “Raw milk lasts days, not weeks. The milk those people drank was gone long before the sampler arrived, and a negative result on June 16 says nothing about milk bottled in late May,” Marler said. “That is the raw milk problem in one sentence: the investigation takes longer than the milk lasts.” The same thing happened at the same dairy in 2018, when two people were infected, twenty-one state samples came back negative, and state health officials [told the Peninsula Daily News](https://peninsuladailynews.com/news/creamery-samples-show-no-e-coli-after-state-investigation) that the batch that caused the illnesses was unavailable for testing. It happened again in May 2025, when three people were infected with STEC after drinking [Cowlitz Hill Guernseys](https://doh.wa.gov/you-and-your-family/illness-and-disease-z/foodborne-illness/outbreaks/2025-shiga-toxin-producing-e-coli-stec-infection-outbreak-linked-raw-milk-consumption) raw milk, one was hospitalized, WSDA’s sample was negative, and there was no recall. **How the state announced this outbreak, and the last three** In December 2009, the state issued a news release naming the dairy. In September 2018, DOH issued a news release; the owner told the Sequim Gazette he learned of it from a retailer. In April 2021, DOH issued a news release, and [KIRO 7](https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/recall-alert-dungeness-valley-creamery-recalls-raw-milk-due-campylobacteriosis-cases-4-counties/D3XM65YCYJC4XLYLN7K6IODNQU/), KING 5, MyNorthwest and the Skagit County Health Department carried it within days. In July 2026, DOH posted a page that says the information is being shared “for consumer awareness.” “Awareness requires that someone be told,” Marler said. “A page nobody sees is not a warning.” *Dungeness Valley Creamery outbreaks and product pulls, 2009 to 2026. Sources: Washington DOH outbreak pages, WSDA recall notices and news releases, and contemporaneous reporting by the Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette, Everett Herald and Food Safety News.* **Year** **What happened** **Pathogen** **Sick** **Product pulled** **How announced** 2009 Outbreak, at least three ill; outbreak strain found at the dairy *E. coli* O121 (O157:H7 suspected) 3 No WSDA news release 2013 State cream sample positive STEC 0 Yes, WSDA warning WSDA news release 2014 Preliminary positive on cream; cleared in 3 days *E. coli*(preliminary; not confirmed) 0 Yes, owners’ advisory Local news 2018 Outbreak; 21 samples negative *E. coli* 2 No DOH news release 2019 State whole milk sample positive STEC 0 Yes, recall Recall notice; local news 2019 State sample positive, third of the year STEC 0 Yes, recall WSDA recall notice 2020 State cream sample positive STEC 0 Yes, customer advisory WSDA recall notice 2021 Outbreak; traced to a single cow *Campylobacter* 5 Yes, recall DOH news release 2026 Outbreak; sample 19 days later negative STEC 4 No DOH web page only State samples tested positive for STEC in 2013, three times in 2019, and in 2020. In three of the four outbreaks, 2009, 2018 and 2026, the state never found the bacteria in the milk. DOH [counts at least eleven](https://doh.wa.gov/you-and-your-family/illness-and-disease-z/foodborne-illness/outbreaks/2024-campylobacteriosis-raw-milk)raw milk outbreaks in Washington from 2005 through 2024. Cowlitz Hill Guernseys in 2025 and Dungeness Valley Creamery in 2026 make thirteen, not counting the ten people sickened by Twin Sisters Creamery raw milk cheese in 2025. “A license and a monthly test do not make raw milk safe,” Marler said. “They tell you, after the fact, that something got through, and sometimes not even that.” **What Marler is asking the state to do** - When DOH names a dairy as the most likely source of an outbreak, it should say so in a news release, as it did in 2009, 2018 and 2021. - WSDA should publish each licensed raw milk dairy’s sampling and outbreak history in one place a shopper can find. “The label on every bottle warns that raw milk may contain harmful bacteria. It does not say this dairy has had four outbreaks and six pulls,” Marler said. “Buyers can decide what to do with that. They cannot decide what they are never told.” **What consumers should do** - DOH advises that children under 5, pregnant people, older adults and anyone with a weakened immune system should not drink raw milk. Marler’s advice is shorter: nobody should. Anyone who drinks it anyway should know the record of the dairy they are buying from. - STEC symptoms usually begin three to four days after exposure and include severe stomach cramps, diarrhea that is often bloody, and vomiting. See a doctor for bloody diarrhea, diarrhea lasting more than three days, a fever above 102°F, or signs of dehydration. Antibiotics are generally not recommended for STEC infection because they can increase the risk of hemolytic uremic syndrome, a form of kidney failure. - Anyone who drank raw milk and became ill should report it. Washington residents can use the state’s [online Foodborne Illness Notification form](https://redcap.doh.wa.gov/surveys/?s=L7THW4XYPDE9NYNC) or call their local health department. - Keep the bottle, receipt or a photo of either, and ask the laboratory or health department to preserve the isolate. Whole genome sequencing is what links an illness to an outbreak, and isolates are routinely discarded. The full analysis, with sources, is available on [Marler Blog](https://www.marlerblog.com/case-news/four-e-coli-cases-tied-to-dungeness-valley-creamery-raw-milk-no-recall-no-headlines/). **About Marler Clark** [Marler Clark, Inc., PS](https://www.marlerclark.com/), The Food Safety Law Firm, is based on Bainbridge Island, Washington. Founder and managing partner Bill Marler has represented victims of foodborne illness since 1993, when he represented Brianne Kiner, the most seriously injured survivor of the Jack in the Box *E. coli* O157:H7 outbreak. The firm has represented victims of raw milk outbreaks in Washington and other states, and currently represents a plaintiff in litigation arising from the 2025 Twin Sisters Creamery raw milk cheese *E. coli* outbreak. Marler publishes Marler Blog and RealRawMilkFacts.com, founded Food Safety News in 2009, teaches food safety at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and is the subject of the book and Emmy Award-winning Netflix documentary *Poisoned*. **Media contact** Bill Marler Marler Clark, Inc., PS 180 Olympic Drive S.E., Bainbridge Island, WA 98110 1-800-884-9840 bmarler@marlerclark.com \### ### Other E. coli Lawsuits [55 People, in 15 States, Sickened in E.coli and Salmonella Outbreak Tied to Sprouts - Wisconsin and Minnesota Hit Hard](https://marlerclark.com/minnesota-and-wisconsin-e-coli-and-salmonella-outbreak-tied-to-sprouts) [E. coli Sickens 12 from Publix Blueberries](https://marlerclark.com/e-coli-sickens-12-from-publix-blueberries) [Kebab Shop E. coli Outbreak Sickens Nine](https://marlerclark.com/kebab-shop-e-coli-outbreak-sickens-nine) [Raw Farms linked to another Raw Milk Cheese E.coli Outbreak - 9 People sickened - Company refuses to recall product](https://marlerclark.com/raw-farms-linked-to-another-raw-milk-cheese-e-coli-outbreak-7-people-sickened) [10 with E. coli linked to 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