Raw Milk Scare & Ag Related Bills

Raw Milk Scare & Ag Related Bills

I’m Lacy Gray with Washington Ag Today.

In a recent WSDA inspection at the Dungeness Valley Creamery a routine sampling of DVC’s raw milk products found toxin producing E. coli in a raw cream sample. A recall of the potentially contaminated raw milk has been issued and no human illnesses have been linked with these products. A follow-up inspection by the WSDA at the Dungeness Valley Creamery has found no critical violations of the rules for retail raw milk operations. Additional testing of raw milk from the operation did not find the presence of E. coli bacteria. Consumers should only buy manufactured raw milk from Dungeness Valley Creamery that has a Best Buy date of 3/9 or later. WSDA’s Rapid Response Manager, Steve Fuller, has this advice for consumers.

FULLER: If they are feeling ill at all, and they think it might be related, they should see their health care provider, regardless of the date of the milk that they drank.

House Bills 1112 and 1113, both which direct the state departments of Fish and Wildlife (HB 1112) and Ecology (HB 1113) to show their work when it comes to the use of science, moved from the House to the Senate this past week. The Senate Agriculture, Water & Rural Economic Development Committee passed SSB 5836, which allows counties to rely on exempt wells in building permit and subdivision decision making for basins that are not closed to further groundwater appropriation, to the House Rules Committee. And Senate Bill 5054, which would require the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, Department of Natural Resources and State Parks to ask the Legislature for permission to acquire new land has survived the policy cutoff date, and is currently awaiting approval by the Senate Ways and Means Committee.

I’m Lacy Gray and that’s Washington Ag Today on the Ag Information Network.