Oregon Public Broadcasting

Umpqua Dairy is recalling many of its milk and juice products. Oregon Public Health officials have linked Umpqua’s cartons to a low level outbreak of salmonella.

Various strains of salmonella sicken about 400 Oregonians each year. But in January, health officials noticed several people had been sickened by a single genetically unique strain.

New cases kept trickling in.

Dr. Paul Cieslak is with Oregon Public Health. He says it took a lot of detective work to figure out that Umpqua dairy in Roseburg was the problem. 

Paul Cieslak: “When you find out that ten out of ten cases have drunk pasteurized milk, it doesn’t raise any eyebrows. Almost everybody drinks milk and it’s an unlikely vehicle to cause infection.“

Umpqua’s pasteurization process was working. But the milk was going into contaminated containers.

The recall extends to milk, cream, half and half, buttermilk and juice. Umpqua ice cream is not being recalled.