Guest guest Posted June 3, 2006 Report Share Posted June 3, 2006 Bacteria Blamed for Sickening Inmates By Jenifer Warren, Times Staff Writer June 3, 2006 SACRAMENTO — State corrections officials on Friday blamed bacteria in milk for an outbreak of gastroenteritis that struck 1,300 inmates at 11 state prisons last month. Acting Corrections Secretary Tilton said investigators from the state Department of Health Services had linked the illness to a batch of milk produced by a dairy at one of the prisons, Deuel Vocational Institution in . State epidemiologists made the connection after learning that among the inmates who experienced vomiting, diarrhea, headaches and other symptoms, milk appeared to be the common item consumed. As a precaution, Tilton said the milk produced between May 8 and May 18 — about 25,000 half-pint cartons — was recalled and thrown out. Beam, chief of milk and dairy food safety for the California Department of Food and Agriculture, said officials inspected the prison's milk processing plant and found that all operations met or exceeded state standards. Beam said elevated bacterial counts in samples from the recalled batch probably were caused after production, maybe during packaging. " We've yet to identify any one aspect that is the culprit, " Beam said. He said the outbreak does not suggest there is any ongoing concern with milk production or pasteurization at the prison. The dairy at the prison, east of San Francisco, produces about 6,000 gallons of raw milk per day, providing jobs for inmates while supplying milk to state and county facilities. Gastroenteritis hit first at Deuel, on May 16. Test results and cultures from stool samples confirmed Campylobacter, a bacterial organism, as the cause. The disease then spread to prisons elsewhere in the San Joaquin Valley and also in Folsom, the Sierra foothills and Norco in Riverside County. Some inmates were hospitalized, but most were treated in their cells. www.MajestyFarm.com See, when the GOVERNMENT spends money, it creates jobs; whereas when the money is left in the hands of TAXPAYERS, God only knows what they do with it. Bake it into pies, probably. Anything to avoid creating jobs. -- Dave Barry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.