Posted on 07/15/2004 8:52:09 PM PDT by South40
SAN DIEGO – Health officials warned residents Thursday not to buy cheese and raw milk products sold on the streets and neighborhoods of San Diego County because they could contain harmful bacteria.
The illegal products, sometimes called "bathtub cheese," pose a health threat to consumers because unlicensed manufacturers use raw, unpasteurized milk that can promote bacteria growth, county health officials said.
"We have found these illegal cheeses being sold from the back of cars or trucks, at swap meets and from door-to-door salespeople," said Gary Erbeck, director of the County Environmental Health Department.
The containers used to make the cheese, often bathtubs, homemade wooden vats and rusted molds, are commonly stored in barns or garages lacking adequate pest control and sanitation.
"There can be serious health consequences if unpasteurized cheese is consumed," said Dr. Michele Ginsberg, the county's chief of epidemiology.
Health problems associated with the bad cheese can include salmonella, listeria, nausea, diarrhea, muscle aches and fever, according to Ginsberg.
Pregnant women are particularly at risk as they can transmit listeria to the fetus, which can result in stillborn, early labor or meningitis in the newborn infant, she said.
Anyone who may have eaten unpasteurized cheese and is concerned is urged to contact a physician.
It is a criminal offense in California to manufacture and sell cheese from an unlicensed facility. To report an offense, call the Department of Environmental Health at (619) 338-2283.
That's it! No more bathtub cheese for me. Whew, thanks for posting this.
For you it may be too late.
Ping :)
"That's what cheese is. It's gone-off milk with bugs and mold. That's why it tastes so good."
Chef Gareth Blackstock, explaining why he doesn't want to serve pasteurized Stilton to the great chef Albert Roux.
Don't forget the toilet bowls. You can make a lot of cheese in a toilet bowl. Been going on for years here in California, mostly courtesy of our illegal population. You'd think it would be easy enough to avoid, except restaurants buy the crap, too.
Call the Cheese Police at 1-800-TOE JAM.
But to be sucessful at selling street cheese, you'd have to be a real cheeze whiz.
Coincidence???
My sister once bit into moose cheese!
Women and Minorities hit hardest
Particularly avoid any cheese bearing the KRAPT label.
She's still alive. I have not, will not try the stuff that was once yogurt, now a 2 days old and a semi-soft mass. She did have some upset stomach complaints, which she attributed to some spicy chili..
Where are the obligatory pictures?
and the same should apply to buying and selling live goats out of the trunk of a 1971 plymouth.
That would be politically incorrect...as it would be "profiling".
LOL...oh geesh, my bad!
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