21 sick with E. coli and food poisoning, including 6 young kids, after ingesting raw milk from Florida farm
Of the 21 people sickened, seven were hospitalized, including two with severe complications, after consuming the tainted dairy. It's unclear if any of those hospitalized included the young children, who are all under 10 years old.
4 Twenty-one people were sickened after consuming raw milk from a farm in Florida.
tonaquatic – stock.adobe.com
Advertisement
Officials also didn't specify whether those being treated suffered from E. coli, Campylobacter or both bacterial infections.
'Sanitation practices in this farm are of particular concern due to the number of cases,' public health officials wrote in a state advisory.
The farm that sparked the outbreak across central and northeast Florida was not named.
Advertisement
The bacterial infections can primarily cause various forms of gastrointestinal illnesses and, in severe cases, life-threatening complications like kidney failure.
Still, some groups — like vegans who believe dairy farming is unethical — seek out raw milk as a preferred alternative in spite of the risks health officials ceaselessly warn against.
4 The 21 infected reported cases of E. coli and Campylobacter.
AP
'We invented pasteurization for a reason. It's maddening that this is happening,' Keith Schneider, a food safety professor at the University of Florida, said.
Advertisement
In an attempt to cater to the unrelenting raw milk lovers, many states have implemented varying regulations regarding the dairy's sale. Some, bizarrely, permit 'cowshares' where customers can purchase milk produced by designated animals, while others only allow raw milk to be consumed by farm owners and their employees or 'non-paying guests.'
4 Unpasteurized milk isn't heated up to the right temperature to kill bacteria.
AP
Florida explicitly prohibits the sale and distribution of raw milk for human consumption, so many retailers skirt around the rule by labeling their products as for pets or animals only.
Once the carton is out the door, though, it's anybody's game.
Advertisement
4 Florida bans the commercial sale of raw milk for human consumption.
Pixel-Shot – stock.adobe.com
Between September 2023 and March 2024, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recorded 'one of the largest food-borne outbreaks linked to raw milk in recent US history' that infected more than 160 people in California with Salmonella.
The outbreak was linked back to raw milk products from the same dairy, according to the CDC.
Unlike Florida, California has limited regulations on the commercial sale of raw milk.
With Post wires.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
4 hours ago
'Traditionally, it was a Democrat issue': How RFK Jr. is getting left-leaning food laws into deep-red states
Earlier this month, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. notched one of his biggest wins of the "Make America Healthy Again" movement when West Virginia became the first state in the country to ban artificial food dyes in school lunches. Since then, a handful of other Republican governors have raced to join in, banning certain food colorings from kids' lunches -- sometimes prohibiting other chemical additives, too. Some GOP leaders have gone further, slapping warning labels on certain food additives statewide. Historically the focus of Democrats, including former first lady Michelle Obama -- and derided as "nanny state" politics by anti-regulation conservatives -- food laws have lately had a windfall of support from the other side of the aisle. Kennedy's "Make America Health Again" crusade against food additives, with its strong backing from President Donald Trump, has taken hold in deeply Republican states such as Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma. "Traditionally, it was a Democratic issue," Kennedy told ABC News at a press conference on Monday, adding that he is hopeful that Democrats will continue pass food laws in their states despite the "partisan brand" the movement brings. West Virginia -- which has the second-lowest life expectancy rate in the nation, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -- has taken one of the most stringent approaches, intending to further its ban on artificial dyes and other additives to the whole state by 2028. Its law closely mirrors those passed by California Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom, who signed similar bills into law before Kennedy and Trump took office. The California Food Safety Act passed in 2023, which banned four additives statewide, and a second California law passed in 2024, which banned six specific synthetic food dyes from school lunches. Both take effect in 2027. "Sometimes you find that there are unorthodox partners, but the key is what you're able to accomplish," West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrissey, a Republican, told ABC News. If the changes improve health outcomes for West Virginians, it'll be "a win," he said. West Virginia is one of 10 Republican states that have taken steps to regulate food since Kennedy took office. Just two Democratic governors, Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs and Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer, have signed similar laws in that same timeframe. At the same time, 11 Republican states have applied to the federal government for waivers to prohibit soda or candy from the food benefits program for low-income Americans, SNAP. The sole Democrat-led state to join in on the SNAP policy change is Colorado. More states are waiting in the wings, said John Hewitt, senior vice president of state affairs for the Consumer Brands Association, which represents major food companies such as Kraft Heinz. There's been at least a tenfold increase in the number of food bills introduced or discussed at the state level, he said, and there's been a "substantial shift" in which states are interested. 'Copy and pasting' Democrats' food laws into red states Thomas Galligan, principal scientist for food additives and supplements at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, has worked with states such as California and New York on systemic food reform. And although CSPI has frequently clashed with Kennedy on his policies at HHS, particularly around vaccines, Galligan said on food, "it's fair to give credit where it's due." "I mean, the Trump administration, under RFK Jr., has really elevated this issue on the national stage," he said. But Galligan pushed back on the characterization that it's part of Kennedy's "Make America Health Again" movement, pointing to California's laws, before Kennedy's tenure, as the blueprint. "Most of the bills that we're seeing are really copy and pasting," Galligan said. Six Republican states -- Tennessee, Virginia, Utah, Arizona, Louisiana and Texas -- have passed laws to remove artificial dyes from school lunches, with some states going further and prohibiting additives such as potassium bromate and propylparabens. Texas and Louisiana will also do more -- seeking to warn consumers when they're buying food with additives that are banned in other countries, such as Europe. West Virginia and Arkansas will outright ban certain additives statewide. Some nutritionists and dietitians say that it's best to avoid artificial food dyes, which have been linked in some studies to behavioral changes in children, as well as to cancer in animals, but others say more research needs to be done about the potential negative effects, which are still unclear. Why are food laws different for Republicans this time? For conservatives such as Jeff Singer, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute who studies health policy, the new Republican-led laws around food are a far cry from the days of protesting Obama's "Lets Move!" campaign and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's attempt to ban Big Gulp soda. "I clearly remember all of the criticism, particularly on right-wing media, of Mayor Bloomberg," Singer said. "All the attacks on Michelle Obama for trying to dictate how people should eat, and dictate what should be in school lunches." "They were basically saying, 'keep your nose out of our private affairs, this is not a role for government, we don't need a nanny state.' But all of a sudden, they're all for a nanny state because it was a very good political move to bring RFK into the MAGA movement," Singer said. The lack of conservative pushback this time around has left the food industry, a powerful lobbying force, as the primary barrier to passing legislation, said Meghan Enslow, policy associate for the Center for Science in the Public Interest. "In all of these states, blue and red, there's been immense lobbying and money spent by the food industry against these bills. And I do wonder if that MAHA narrative is part of what's allowed red states to ignore that money and the voice of the food industry and pass these bills," Enslow said. Kennedy said that a few Democratic governors have told him privately that they intend to get on board. "They don't want to call it MAHA because they think that that's become kind of a partisan brand. I don't care what they call it," Kennedy said. "They want to protect their children. And there's no such thing as Democratic children or Republican children. They're our children, and we should all care about them."
NBC News
5 hours ago
- NBC News
Ultra-processed foods make up the majority of kids' diet, CDC report finds
Ultra-processed foods make up the bulk of what kids eat — and adults aren't far behind, a report published Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds. About 62% of kids' and teens' daily calories came from ultra-processed foods, the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics found, compared with 53% for adults. The report marks the first time CDC has provided estimates about how much ultra-processed foods make up Americans' diets. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in May cited ultra-processed foods among his list of top issues that need to be addressed to curb what he says is an epidemic of childhood chronic diseases. Last month, the Department of Health and Human Services took the first step to formally define 'ultra-processed foods' — a move, experts say, that could open the door to regulation, including what types of food are eligible for food assistance programs. Diets high in ultra-processed foods have been linked to a number of health problems, including depression, Type 2 diabetes and early death. Previous administrations have also tried to take action on ultra-processed foods, but those efforts have focused mostly on labeling and individual ingredients — such as added sugars and trans fats — rather than on regulating or classifying foods based on their level of processing. In January, during the Biden administration, the Food and Drug Administration proposed requiring a new label on the front of most packaged food and drinks that would alert consumers to how much saturated fat, salt and added sugar they contained. Thursday's report was based on findings from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, from August 2021 to August 2023. The report's lead author, Anne Williams, a researcher with the National Center for Health Statistics, said the agency identified ultra-processed foods using the NOVA classification system — a framework developed by Brazilian researchers that's the most commonly used tool to evaluate processed foods. NOVA defines ultra-processed products as 'industrial creations' made with little — if any — whole foods. The top source of ultra-processed foods for both kids and adults was sandwiches, such as burgers, hot dogs and PB&Js, Williams said. That was followed by baked goods, salty snacks and sugary drinks. The report found that adults with higher incomes tended to eat fewer ultra-processed foods. It also found that intake of ultra-processed foods for both kids and adults dropped slightly from 2017-18 to August 2021–23. For adults, the decline started even earlier, going back to 2013–14. Williams cautioned that the decline so far has been small — a 56-calorie difference over roughly a decade. Marion Nestle, professor emerita of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University, said the CDC's findings align with what outside researchers have found about Americans' eating habits. Nestle said parents tend to gravitate toward ultra-processed foods for their kids because they're easy to throw in a school lunch bag. But, she added, probably the biggest reason kids eat so many ultra-processed foods is that the food industry heavily markets it to them. 'They're the most profitable products in the supermarket, and the companies sell them, they market them directly to kids,' Nestle said. 'They're seen as cool and are iconic and you're lucky to eat them, because that's how they're marketed.' The term 'ultra-processed food' was created around 2009 and has primarily been used for research purposes, said Susan Mayne, who was director of the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition in both the Biden and the first Trump administrations. Mayne said research has shown that eating ultra-processed foods in general is linked to increased caloric intake and weight gain and that it is associated with greater risk of chronic diseases. The problem with defining ultra-processed foods, she said, is that not all of them are linked to greater health risks. In fact, some — like certain yogurts, whole grain breads and cereals — are actually associated with reduced risks of chronic diseases like colon cancer. States like California have tried to address that by coming up with a definition of 'particularly harmful' ultra-processed foods, she added. The NOVA classification system also has limitations, as it doesn't directly measure processing, Mayne said. Rather, it uses additives and specific ingredients as a proxy for the level of processing. 'FDA is engaging in a public process to attempt to define UPF, which is a good first step,' Mayne said in an email, referring to ultra-processed foods. 'But it would be important to repeat studies to demonstrate that the new definition is as or more predictive of chronic disease risk than existing definitions before it could be used for policies.' HHS hasn't said when it plans to formally define 'ultra-processed.' Nestle said she hopes the Trump administration also targets marketing. 'These are highly convenient products, and the kids will eat them because the kids have been trained to eat them,' she said.
The Hill
9 hours ago
- The Hill
Cuban animal lovers struggle to feed stray cats and dogs as economic crisis bites
HAVANA (AP) — Every afternoon, 81-year-old Nélida Pérez begins her familiar walk down the cobblestone streets of Old Havana, a procession of hungry cats trailing close behind her. For years, Pérez has taken it upon herself to feed some of the street cats that roam this part of town, which is also one of the most popular tourist spots in the Cuban capital. She once relied on her own food or restaurant donations, but as the island's economic situation worsened and tourism declined, it has become increasingly difficult to provide for them. 'I have never in my life asked anyone for a plate of food to feed my cats,' Pérez told The Associated Press. 'Now I see myself in difficulties because there is no tourism and there is an economic crisis.' Since 2020, Cuba has faced a worsening economic crisis, driven by COVID-19 shutdowns, stricter U.S. sanctions, and an internal monetary reform that triggered inflation. Although the government provides vaccines, sterilization and some free clinics, it does not have the means to provide shelter and food for street cats and dogs. While official data is unavailable, activists say that many pet lovers have turned their homes — even small apartments — into shelters, but they are struggling to keep up with the demand and provide adequate care. 'The streets will kill them,' said Bárbara Iglesias, a 51-year-old pharmacist who adopted five dogs and has rescued and found homes for a dozen others. Iglesias explained that the hardest part is getting food. A 20-kilo (44-pound) bag of dog food, which lasts one dog for about 45 days, costs around $80 — a sum that is out of reach for most. This forces people to feed animals with pig organ meat (offal), chicken parts or mince meat — which are also not easy to obtain. On top of that, annual vaccines cost about $20 and a vet visit is another $10, all while the average monthly salary on the island is only about $12. Experts say that the abandonment of animals in Cuba is a result of several factors, including rising food and medicine prices, the migration of hundreds of thousands of Cubans in the last five years, and a high mortality rate among older adults. 'People are more focused on their problems, which are numerous: Cubans don't have water, they don't have electricity, and getting food is becoming increasingly difficult,' said Annelie González, one of the leaders of the Aldameros Project, a cat colony located in a park in Havana's historic center. 'Having an animal in your care involves feeding and caring,' said González, 36, who works as a restaurant manager and spends much of her income on the cats. She and a small group of volunteers began feeding 15 cats in Aldameros Park at the beginning of the pandemic. Today, they care for more than 150. Over the years, through their own efforts and some donations, they were able to install water pumps, pens for special cases, and cages for the kittens. González points to a number that she said reveals the shocking scale of the problem: at the start of the decade, roughly three abandoned cats appeared in the park each week. This year, that figure has soared to 15 per day. Back in Old Havana, Pérez recounts with sadness how she has seen people mistreat, beat and even kill stray cats. 'As long as I'm alive and healthy, and people help me,' she vowed, 'I'll always find them something to eat.'
