Officials focus on milk in tainted cheese probe
Utah officials continue to search Tuesday for the source of salmonella contamination in homemade queso fresco made by a producer known as “Mr. Cheese” who likely sold it out of his house and car in Salt Lake City and the surrounding suburbs.
Raw milk was initially suspected of contaminating the cheese, but samples from the dairy the cheese-maker claimed supplied his operation have tested negative for Salmonella Newport, said Larry Lewis, spokesman for the Department of Agriculture and Food.
Investigators continue to work with the West Valley City man to determine other possible sources, but Lewis said they suspect the contamination occurred because of unsanitary conditions at the residence where the cheese was made.
Numerous health code violations prompted a cease-and-desist letter to the cheese-maker from the department on Oct. 12, Lewis said. The man’s home has also tested positive for the presence of Salmonella Newport.
“There was a lot of contamination in the home,” Lewis said.
Utah law allows for people to prepare food for commercial sale in their homes without a commercial kitchen, but they have to be licensed and adhere to sanitation regulations. Consumers should be cautious when buying prepared foods from unlicensed vendors, especially if it’s a product such as cheese that should be pasteurized, Lewis said.
Some 73 cases of Salmonella Newport have been confirmed in six Wasatch Front counties since 2009, according to the Salt Lake County Health Department. Eleven cases were confirmed in 2009, followed by another 22 cases in 2010 and 40 cases this year.
Officials estimate as many as 2,100 people may actually have had the infection, which causes nausea, stomach pain, diarrhoea and fever. Some may have become ill after consuming the cheese, and others could have contracted the illness by having contact with infected persons.
One restaurant was found using the Mexican soft cheese and was closed down, department spokeswoman Pam Davenport said.
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