Snohomish County reports E. coli case tied to Twin Sisters Creamery raw milk cheese

Snohomish County health officials have identified a case of E. coli connected to Twin Sisters Creamery’s raw milk cheese.

This E. coli discovery is part of a larger outbreak — at least 10 illnesses have been reported in both Washington and Oregon.

The company, based in Ferndale, recalled its aged raw milk cheeses on Oct. 24.

“Washington State Department of Health is working with local, state, Oregon Health Authority, and federal public health partners to investigate Shiga Toxin-Producing E. coli (STEC) infections linked to consumption of aged, raw milk cheese,” the Snohomish County Health Department stated.

Residents are urged to check their refrigerators and throw out any recalled products. If there is no “made on” date or batch code on the cheese packaging, the health department advises that it be thrown away.

“Do not eat any recalled Whatcom Blue, Farmhouse, Peppercorn, and Mustard Seed varieties of Twin Sisters Creamery cheese,” the Snohomish County Health Department said. “People should discard any remaining Twin Sisters cheeses due to difficulty identifying batch information on remaining packages.”

What is E. coli?

E. coli is a bacterium that lives in the intestines of humans and animals. Certain types of E. coli, known as STEC, can cause serious illness in people. It is spread by consuming food or water that is contaminated with STEC bacteria or by direct person-to-person transmission. It can spread from animals to people through the consumption of raw or undercooked meat, unpasteurized milk, or foods contaminated by raw meat products or animal feces.

Infected people, especially young children, may spread the illness to others if they fail to properly wash their hands after using the bathroom. People are typically contagious for one to three weeks.

Twin Sisters Creamery launches recall

Twin Sisters Creamery initiated a recall on Oct. 27 after three individuals in the Pacific Northwest reported having E. coli infections linked to consuming aged, raw milk cheese from the company.

The illnesses occurred between Sept. 5 and Sept. 16, with two Washington patients and one person from Oregon who developed infections, the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) confirmed.

One individual was a child, younger than 5 years old, while the other two were adults. Of the three cases, one individual needed to be hospitalized. Molecular fingerprinting of all three cases revealed extremely similar bacteria, suggesting there was a common source for each infection.

Multiple samples of Twin Sisters Creamery cheese have been collected for testing, including unopened and opened samples. Both tested positive for E. coli, and additional unopened samples of cheese from various locations have been collected.

The company released an announcement urging consumers who have purchased Twin Sisters Creamery cheeses to return the product to the place of purchase for a full refund.

Contributing: Jason Sutich, MyNorthwest

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