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BumRushDaShow

(129,662 posts) Tue Mar 5, 2024, 07:26 PM Mar 5

Former cheesemaker pleads guilty in listeria outbreak that killed two people

Source: CBS News

March 5, 2024 / 5:39 PM EST

A former cheese manufacturer and the company he owned pleaded guilty on Tuesday to misdemeanor charges related to a 2016-2017 outbreak of listeria that hospitalized eight people and killed two. Johannes Vulto and Vulto Creamery of Walton, New York, pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of causing the introduction of adulterated food into interstate commerce between December 2014 and March 2017, the Department of Justice announced.

Vulto Creamery's soft raw cheese was behind the sole multistate outbreak of listeriosis in 2017, resulting of a nationwide recall of the raw milk cheeses sold by the company, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

FDA investigators found workers at the creamery did not wash their arms before using them to stir and break up cheese curds, including one employee with multiple cuts and abrasions on his arms. Swabs of Vulto's creamery repeatedly tested positive for the bacteria over the three-year period.

"This investigation and prosecution holds accountable the defendant and his business who through unsafe practices caused illness and death to consumers in an entirely preventable tragedy," U.S. Attorney Carla B. Freedman for the Northern District of New York stated in a statement. A sentencing date will be set by a magistrate judge in Syracuse, New York, the Justice Department said.

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cheese-listeria-outbreak-recall-doj/

13 replies

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Former cheesemaker pleads guilty in listeria outbreak that killed two people (Original Post) BumRushDaShow Mar 5 OP

And I wonder when the families of those who died, and got seriously ill from eating these products, will sue? SWBTATTReg Mar 5 #1

This is what happens when people buy cheese not made in Wisconsin. Archae Mar 5 #2

Right? My SO has done automation in cheese and dairy processing plants. sybylla Mar 5 #8

I don't understand the attraction to raw dairy n/t TexasBushwhacker Mar 5 #3

It's bullshit. Archae Mar 5 #4

I feel the same, but my background is in TexasBushwhacker Mar 5 #5

Of course. Me too. Archae Mar 5 #7

Cheese made from unpasturized milk has more flavor Mosby Mar 6 #11

raw milk Old Okie Mar 6 #12

Here's a good article Mosby Mar 6 #13

How did this happen I thought cheesemakers were blessed by god. nycbos Mar 5 #6

that's not to be interpreted literally prodigitalson Mar 6 #9

Reminds me of that running joke on SNL about New York wines. Crowman2009 Mar 6 #10

SWBTATTReg

(22,176 posts)

1. And I wonder when the families of those who died, and got seriously ill from eating these products, will sue?

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Original post)

Tue Mar 5, 2024, 07:33 PM

Mar 5

Unfortunately the cheese guy will probably close up shop, and flee, w/o facing them.

Archae

(46,359 posts)

2. This is what happens when people buy cheese not made in Wisconsin.

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Original post)

Tue Mar 5, 2024, 07:41 PM

Mar 5

sybylla

(8,528 posts)

8. Right? My SO has done automation in cheese and dairy processing plants.

Reply to Archae (Reply #2)

Tue Mar 5, 2024, 09:16 PM

Mar 5

In other states, they are afraid of the USDA.

He says in Wisconsin, everyone is afraid of the state regulators, who are tougher than the USDA and show up a little more often.

He worked on projects for plants in Wisconsin, Iowa, Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, California, and Minnesota (though they are a solid second to WI). There were a couple of plants he would never buy a product from.

Because of that, we only buy diary products made in Wisconsin.

TexasBushwhacker

(20,222 posts)

3. I don't understand the attraction to raw dairy n/t

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Original post)

Tue Mar 5, 2024, 07:54 PM

Mar 5

Archae

(46,359 posts)

4. It's bullshit.

Reply to TexasBushwhacker (Reply #3)

Tue Mar 5, 2024, 08:01 PM

Mar 5

Claims are made "Milk is more nutritious if it isn't pasteurized!"

Like so many of these "organic" or "non-processed" food claims, somebody makes up a bullshit claim, and people jump on the bandwagon.

TexasBushwhacker

(20,222 posts)

5. I feel the same, but my background is in

Reply to Archae (Reply #4)

Tue Mar 5, 2024, 08:07 PM

Mar 5

SCIENCE!!!

Archae

(46,359 posts)

7. Of course. Me too.

Reply to TexasBushwhacker (Reply #5)

Tue Mar 5, 2024, 08:13 PM

Mar 5

Science tells us these claims are horseshit.

The hucksters though HATE science.

Mosby

(16,385 posts)

11. Cheese made from unpasturized milk has more flavor

Reply to TexasBushwhacker (Reply #3)

Wed Mar 6, 2024, 10:37 AM

Mar 6

The flavors are more intense and have more depth. Raw milk cheese is also easier to digest and is better for you. The problem is cheeses that aren't aged for very long. The aging mitigates bad bacteria and develops good bacterias and enzymes. There are some well known raw milk cheeses like parm reg and gruyère. They are both aged for at least 60 days.

Old Okie

(146 posts)

12. raw milk

Reply to Mosby (Reply #11)

Wed Mar 6, 2024, 12:24 PM

Mar 6

Raw milk and raw milk products have been involved in numerous incidents of illness. Do you have any source that shows scientifically that it is better for you?

Parmagiano-Reggiano production in Italy at least is highly regulated and the production process includes heating to 55C (131F) so it is not really a raw product and is aged for at least 2 years, not 30 days. Reference found by Google from CONSORZIO DEL FORMAGGIO PARMIGIANO REGGIANO Via Kennedy, 18, 42124 - Reggio Emilia - Italia where the process is described in detail.

Mosby

(16,385 posts)

13. Here's a good article

Reply to Old Okie (Reply #12)

Wed Mar 6, 2024, 12:57 PM

Mar 6

It's really a mixed bag, like I said in my previous post, the fresh cheeses are the problem. I won't eat queso fresco for that reason, it's a known vector for listeria. Raclette on the other hand is a fresh alpine cheese that's made from raw milk, and it's safe.

Parm reg is aged, but it's still made from raw milk.

https://www.doctorkiltz.com/raw-cheese/